


Old Man Jaune

by StarYeti



Category: RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Future Fic, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:01:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 45,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22732195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarYeti/pseuds/StarYeti
Summary: It has been almost three decades since Jaune Arc first attended Beacon Academy. His team is gone and the one woman he loved had sacrificed herself for the greater good. Jaune wants nothing to do with the secret war anymore but he is nonetheless dragged back when it is made clear that a young girl, embodying the hope of the world, is in danger.
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here is Old Man Jaune. This fic was inspired by a fan art I saw a few years ago that showed a grizzled Jaune on the cover of a comic in the vein of Old Man Logan. This fic, like my others, will be updated on a rotation where I update a different fic each week. This is currently 1/4 in the rotation (I'm not suicidal enough to add more). This first chapter was written over a year ago so things will be lacking, for the most part, stuff from V6 and V7 until much later in the story, if I can work them in without contradicting this story.

Issue #1

  
  


* * *

  
  


Vermilion Ash smiled as she waded through the back doors of the inn that was her residence. A small nod to the innkeeper who doubled as bartender and also her guardian. She was adjusting the corset section of her uniform, which she wore under her orange-red cloak, as she walked up to the bar. The gruff, grey-haired, man placed several beers on a tray for her.

“Yer late Mil.”

“Sorry Toland. My hair didn’t want to cooperate.” The young girl tried to look apologetic to the man who had been looking after her for the last seven years. 

“Bah! As if doing yer hair up could make ye attractive ya tomboy. Now shoo, git ter yer job!” His eyes twinkled at her, the banter being something they often played back and forth. 

“Mkay T.” She placed a light, chaste kiss on his cheek as he scowled and blustered against it without any real vehemence. The somewhat short skirt of the cream dress with brown corset twirled in the air as she spun about with the tray, her brunette hair echoing the fabric. The note on the tray said which table had ordered the beers and as she delivered it to them she was greeted by some familiar faces.

“‘Eyyy! It’s Mil! Wos wonderin’ if you were comin’ in today. The drink just don’t taste the same without your pretty face.” 

From across the bar Toland shouted, “Keep your grubby mitts offa Vermilion! And don’t go given’ her no bright ideas!”

Half the bar erupted into laughter at the old scene as it replayed. The man playing at being offended and getting a severe tongue lashing from Toland. Northrend didn’t have a lot of entertainment so a night at Toland’s was the best you’d get but everyone in town might as well have been family, it was all good fun. 

Vermilion loved Toland, the man who took her in after her mother died. Helping him out every night was one of the many small ways she helped pay him back for everything he’d done for her. The old man loved to play the grump but was really just a soft-hearted person. He always enjoyed telling about the time he’d first met her mother and had helped her to Northrend. Most believed that tale to be one of his tallest, from his days as a hunter. People didn’t just wander in from the Grimmlands, after all, especially not pregnant.

Eventually the argument boiled down to Toland extolling that only a man capable of braving the Grimmlands was good enough for Vermilion. She just laughed along as she went up to collect a basket full of another order. Inside it was some roast duck with wine. It was an order that was placed every week on a Friday night for Mr. Hans and his wife. They loved to celebrate the week’s end and considering they ran a restaurant Mr. Hans disliked cooking for it. 

Pulling her hood up Vermilion strolled out into the night air, the town of Northrend still bustling with activity. Mr. Hans place was across town, a small cottage but a short walk away from the couple’s establishment. Knocking on the door the young girl was greeted by the bright smile of Mrs. Hans. 

“Mil, Good evening!”

“Good evening Mrs. Hans.” The girl returned with a slight bow. The woman had always been good for her and her mother. 

“Y’hear about the huntsman?”

“A huntsman? Here in Northrend?” Vermilion looked up, interested. One didn’t get many chances to see those superhuman Huntsmen often. The girl herself wished she could be like them and not stuck here.

“Aye. A lone huntsman. Stopped by our business earlier, asked some odd questions.”

Vermilions silver eyes narrowed, “Like what?”

“Oh, y’know, whether or not we’d seen a bunch of newcomers lately. Or if there’d been any disappearances.”

Unease started spreading from her stomach, “You’re right, Mrs. Hans. That is strange.”

“Aye. Thank’ye for the food, here’s the pay. You stay safe on your way home, y’hear?” Vermilion took the lien and stored it away, turning back home with an empty basket. Once again pulling her hood further over her head against the suddenly colder night air. 

It was halfway there when she saw a van by the side of the road, a man had the hood up and was cussing up a storm at the inert engine. He stopped when he spotted her on the other side of the street.

“Excuse me! Can you help me? I need directions!” The man had a desperate look on his face, grease smudged along his hands. Cautiously she crossed the street, stopping a handful of feet away.

“Hello, sir. Where can I direct you?” 

“Right, yes. You see I’m a traveling merchant. I have dust samples I need to get to Vale and my van seems to have had engine trouble so I was wondering if you could direct me to a mechanic?”

“Ah right, you want Mel’s shop. She can fix just about anything. Head down this road five blo-” She didn’t get another word off as an hand clamped over her mouth. Immediately she started thrashing but started finding her body heavy, the rag in the man’s hand smelled funny.She couldn’t put any strength into her grip as the man she had been speaking to moved to grab her feet. Her eyes became so heavy that she couldn’t keep them open. 

The next time her eyes open she was bound and gagged, shifting around on the floor. Her heart hammered in her chest as she held stock still, silver eyes taking in her surrounding. It looked like the inside of a vehicle, probably the van from before. She felt tears well up in her eyes and start streaming down her cheeks. This must be what that huntsman from before was talking about. It was then that she froze, her blood chilling, noticing one strange thing about her captors. Each had a cloth covering the lower half of their face, it was white with a red, compass-like symbol in it. A vertical, eye like symbol in the middle. The whole thank gave her chills and she started sobbing against the gag in her mouth.

“Shut that thing up!” One of the strangers shouted. One of her captors next to her slammed his boot into her head, causing stars to explode behind her eyes. After that she fought not to let her terror get the better of her. Vermilion closed her eyes focused on her breathing, one of the few things she could remember her mother drilling into her. If she was ever scared she should focus on her breathing and letting the fear go with every exhale. 

It was a lesson imparted if she ever came face to face with a Grimm, but it was no less useful here. She knew she would certainly die or worse if she panicked. Keeping a cool head would be the only thing to let her exploit a chance to escape from her captors.

Suddenly the van started jumping around, her head banging painfully against the metal floor. Hands dragged her up from under her arms as the double doors to the vehicle swung open. A blurry look out revealed a woman standing there with the same cloth covering her face as the cool night air washed over her. She struggled against their firm grasp as she was bodily lifted out of the van. 

Her knees hit the ground and scraped over the grass as they hauled her struggling form over to a tree. Vermilion was making it difficult on her captors because, slight as she may have been, she was still a nearly full grown woman struggling for her life. They finally had enough and delivered several sharp blows to her head and as well as several insults, among them were the word ‘abomination’ and ‘monster’.

They lashed her hands to the tree, the rope coming around the whole circumference to bind her tightly to it. Her vision steadied and she finally saw what was around her. Twenty or so people, all wearing the same cloth over their face, the red _eye_ staring at her from every direction she looked. 

_This is how I’m going to die?_ She thought to herself, a tightening in her throat so strict not even a sob could eek it’s way out, _kidnapped and facing death or something worse._ Her imagination conjured up dreadful images and she flinch when a hand grasped her arm. A man had her and he looked to the others, a large, curved knife in hand.

“Brothers and sisters I welcome you to this auspicious night! As you can no doubt see after tireless work in Her name we have been rewarded!” He gestured to Vermilion, the tip of his knife tracing her cheek and drawing forth droplets of blood, “Through Her guidance and the work of the High Priestess we have found her. The silver-eyed abomination! And tonight we shall put to rest her wicked line forever and allow our Goddess to be reborn into the night!”

His voiced raised and increased in fervor, she couldn’t see the man’s eyes but imagined they stared into the yonder in his zeal. He drew his hand high up into the air, blade in it’s grasp. There was a flash of silver and a scream rent the air. Vermilion couldn’t see anything and slowly opened the eyes she hadn’t realized she had closed. There on the ground in front of her was the severed arm of the man standing next to her, a pool of scarlet around it. The man himself was in mid scream as a blade pierced his midsection, silencing him instantly until he was pushed off the blade. 

Behind the man stood another, bigger man. He was tall with blond hair and beard, his sapphire eyes held a captivating fury that had Vermilion holding her breath. There was a deathly stillness in the clearing as no one dared to move out of shock. The moment, which seemed to stretch for minutes but could not have been more than a second or two, was broken as a woman shrieked.

“Infidel!” 

Echoing the woman’s shout the other’s snapped into action, drawing various weapons. Everyone seemed to move in slow motion as the mysterious man dashed in close to the ground, sword held in both hands, as he brought it up into the guard of the closest man. The blade pierced his stomach before he could even react as several bullets pinged off the man’s back like they were made of rubber. The man grimaced slightly as they hit but otherwise was unharmed as the whisper of ‘huntsman’ ran through the group. 

Vermilion was left tied to the tree and forgotten by both parties as the group turned to deal with the new threat. Being a huntsman made him faster and stronger than the average human. One of the group, the woman who had shouted earlier, spared a glance at their captive and was rewarded with a view of her own feet as her head was severed from her body. Even though the group was spread slightly out, with the stranger’s speed they were all within his reach and everyone knew it. The slightest distraction meant death.

The man dealt death with every blow. His silver sword flashed and crimson sprayed again and again. His victims would swing at him with their swords, daggers, and clubs but he would bat them away with contemptuous ease before running them through. One person was held on the end of his sword as a panicked companion unloaded his pistol into the back of the mysterious man’s meat shield. The man was slain when he ran out of ammo. 

Eventually the was only one man remaining and he stared with shaking hands as the blond swordsman turned towards him, twenty feet away. His eyes widened as he realized something and rushed the lone gunman but not before the gunman noticed something first. A flash and the gun was pointed directly at her. Not even time to blink and the gun went off even as the swordsman sliced into the arm holding the gun, sending it and the hand to the floor before beheading the last man.

A stinging pain blossomed in Vermilion’s abdomen and she looked down and could faintly make out the red staining her brown inn-maid outfit. Her wide, silver eyes met the sapphire blue of her would-be savior as she sank to her knees, her wrist aching painfully against her bonds. She didn’t even notice as he came up to her in a rush, cutting her free.

Through the fire in her stomach she dully noted how gentle he was and even looking into his eyes, which a voice in the back of her mind said were striking, she saw his worry. He looked at her, an apology deep-set on his face, and finally spoke in a voice she thought was a little raspy.

“Stay still. I can help but this is going to hurt first. A lot.” He pulled out a knife and cut a small stick from a nearby branch. He held it up to her mouth, “Bite on this.” She did but was confused until the burning pain in her stomach was replaced with a white hot one as he dug into her wound.

It was unlike anything she had ever felt or imagined and she just wanted it to stop. The pain seemed to go on forever until, with a relief that nearby collapsed her body into a quivering mess, it stopped. Vermilions eyes rolled back and she was dripping with sweat as he laid one hand atop her wound and another lifted her head as his forehead touched to hers. His voice was a whisper but she heard it clearly.

_“It is through darkness that we find the light. Through this, we become bulwarks of justice and peace to stand against all. Infinite in strength and unbound by time, I release your soul, and by my sword, defend thee.”_

A rush of power. That was all she could describe it as. Like a wind blowing through her soul and cool water spreading throughout her veins she could feel _something_ spreading into her being. The burning in her stomach dulled to an ache and she felt her head clearing. The man laid her head back down and placed both hands atop her wound. Again she felt a rush of power but this was different. Like the warmth of sunlight slowly warming up her cold skin she could feel _something_ coming from him.

Looking down she could see it in his hands, a soft white glow that flowed into her and turned into a red-orange glow before disappearing. The glow faded with the pain and she tentatively touch the wound but found none there, just a smooth expanse of skin and a hole in her clothes. If she hadn’t been the one shot she would have questioned whether it had really happened or not. She looked up and met her savior's eyes once again and said the first thing that came to mind.

“Who the fuck are you?”

* * *

  
  


Jaune helped the girl back to her village, or rather gave her a ride while avoiding the constant stream of questions by promising an explanation once they were back inside Northrend. He’d left the bodies to nature. The questions dwindle as she rode on the back of his motorcycle into the village. It was just a short fifteen minute trip and she was still shaking slightly as they got off the vehicle. He ushered her into the inn where they were met by a large group of villagers who turned to stare at the pair. 

An older man rushed in and drew the girl into a rugged embrace before giving Jaune a quick once over accompanied by a scowl.

“Heaven’s girl what happened to ye? I was just organizin’ a search after we heard what happened!”

“I’m okay Toland. I think. I… I was saved by this man. H-His name is Jaune Arc.” The girl’s shaking continued and echoed in her voice. 

“It’s okay, girl. Yer safe. Right?” The last part was addressed to Jaune, who looked the man in the eye.

“No. She’s not.” 

Toland rounded on him, “Whaddya mean by that?!”

“She isn’t safe in Northrend anymore. I..” Jaune looked at those gathered, “I believe this is a conversation best had in private.”

The older man stared at Jaune for a bit and then harrumphed, turning around and waving his hands at the crowd gathered, “Inn’s closed for the night. Git yer carcasses home. Vermilion is safe. Might as well spread the word.” 

The other men dispersed while bidding goodbye and telling Vermilion they were glad she was safe. Eventually there were only three left in the large bare: Toland, Jaune, and Vermilion. The old man pulled a chair out and the three sat down, his gruff gaze never leaving Jaunes and the huntsman meeting it evenly.

“Alright, I s’pose you got some ‘splaining to do?”

Jaune nodded, “Those people, the ones who kidnapped you, were part of a cult. They believe that because you have silver eyes that you are harmful to their goddess and should be killed. They won't stop.”

“And this goddess of theirs?” Toland spoke up.

“They call her Salem, and they believe her the mother of the Grimm.” 

Toland’s eyes widened and Vermilion brought her hand to her mouth

“Grimmspawn worshippers?!”

“Yes. The cult is made up of zealots, they cannot be reasoned with, their fanaticism is…. Troubling.”

“Why silver eyes?” 

Jaune looked over to regard the young woman, her eyes were set. Angry. Understandable. She was being targeted for, to her, no good reason. The blond knight ran a hand through his beard, a habit he had picked up quite a few years ago.

“There’s a legend about silver eyed people. The people with with silver eyes were said to be destined as warriors and had the ability to strike down Grimm with a simple look.”

“And these freaks believe that?” Toland crossed his arms.

“They do. And so do I. These people worship the Grimm and will kill her just for having silver eyes.”

“I’m old. Really old. And never in my life ‘ave I heard o’ this silver eyed crap.”

Jaune looked him dead in the eye, “I used to be friends with one of these silver eyed warriors. You remember the Fall of Beacon?”

A shadow appeared across Tolands face, “Aye. I ‘member that. ‘Twas a tragedy.”

“The Grimm dragon that was frozen atop Beacon tower was done in by my friend. A friend who later returned and slayed the dragon.”

“Shit.” The older man sighed and looked up at him, a certain sympathy and understanding in his eyes that hadn’t been there before, “Your friend. She was the Reaper of Beacon wasn’t she?”

Jaune nodded after a moment of silence. A resignation befell the man and he looked to the young girl he had been in charge of for the past six years. The look on her face was one that pleaded for an explanation and would soon demand one if not given it. 

“Well what does this mean for me?” The girl finally spoke up, practically vibrating in place as she struggled against the feeling of being left out. 

“There isn’t much of a choice honestly. You can stay here. Risk your life and maybe the lives of everyone around you.” Her eyes and wide as she shook her head frantically from side to side, “Or you can come with me. To Beacon. There you will be protected and trained to protect yourself.”

“Are… are you asking me to become a huntress? I don’t even have aura!”

Jaune raised one eyebrow, “You don’t? That’s funny.” And with incredible speed he snatched up a spoon and rapped it across her knuckles. Reflexively she pulled her hand back but then looked at her hand, there was no pain, “You do have your aura now. I had to unlock it in order to save your life. And trust me, you have a lot of it.”

There was a hint of amusement in his eyes as he looked at her and she looked back to her hand. A complicated expression was on her face somewhere between excitement and trepidatious, “When do we leave.”

“How fast can you pack?”

She was gone and upstairs in a few second and Jaune almost smiled at how much she was like Ruby, the similarity caused a dull throb in his chest which he pushed down once again. Toland turned to him and regarded him a moment.

“You were sent here for her.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes. We learned of her having silver eyes and a certain professor at Beacon asked me to come and see she was safe. We knew she would be in danger. If we learned of her, so did they.”

Toland hummed as the conversation fell off and a half-hour later the girl appeared with a backpack fit to burst. She stood in front of Toland, now that she was changed into an outfit with pants and a corset, her namesake cloak over her shoulders with her hood pushed down. Standing like that Jaune was sure she shared ancestry with Ruby Rose, they both cut the same figure. Vermilion was much taller however. 

She embraced Toland as he grumbled at her, making sure she packed everything she might need and once down his hands clapped down on both her shoulders, “I never really told you, Mil, but you were always like a daughter ta me.”

“Same to you Toland. I might’ve never had a father but with you I didn’t need one.” Tears welled up in her eyes and her hands found his wrists, gripping them tenderly, “When I’m done I’ll come back and see you.”

“You do that, girl. I’ll be here waitin’ for ye.”

Jaune waited at the door for them to say their goodbyes. The scene reminding him of his farewell to his family, decades ago. Memories like that came to him here and there, the older he got. He found himself staring at the youth and remember his. His first date with Ruby, Ren and Nora’s wedding. The others’ happy memories. And then the crushing realization that they weren’t here anymore his him. So few had made it to this age with him and they were scattered across Remnant. 

Every few years they got together to hold remembrance to the old days and those who fell but Jaune found it harder and harder to face Yang as the years progress. He looked at Vermilion as she skipped up to him and led her out the door over to where his motorcycle, Silverhawk, was waiting. And didn’t he regret letting Yang name it. Her face was shifting between nervous excitement, sadness, and worry rapidly and he couldn’t help but keep drawing comparisons to Ruby.

He swung his legs over it as the vehicle hummed to life. Vermilion placed a hand to the center of her chest and closed her eyes as if she was praying but opened them a second later and climbed in behind him, wrapping her arms around him. 

“I always wanted to be a huntress,” She said barely loud enough for him to hear, “Just like Mom.”

Without another word Jaune opened the throttle on the motorcycle and the pair sped off into the night in the direction of Beacon Academy.


	2. Issue #2

Issue #2

  
  
  


* * *

  
  


The pair rode through the night and well into the evening of the next day, only stopping for short breaks here and there. Jaune mostly rebuffed her questions during them, telling her to save her breath for when they had more time. 

Vermilion collapsed onto the bed of the inn they had stopped at with a relieved sigh. Who knew that riding a motorcycle could be so taxing but her rear end confirmed that it was. She was tired too but force her eyes to stay open as she considered the other person in the room. The blond man she had just met yesterday was carefully removing his dark brown duster and the armor under it. She noticed he had a breastplate and matching gauntlets and greaves.

His sword, Crocea Mors as she had learned in their brief conversations, was sat within reach of his bed. He removed his breastplate revealing a plain black t-shirt underneath that fit his form. Vermilion felt she should be more concerned about being alone with a stranger like this but was too exhausted to care. Besides, the man had only ever looked her in the eye and her mother had always say you could tell a lot about a person from their eyes. 

With great effort she rolled over and sat up, propped against the headboard, “Hey Jaune.” He looked her way, one eyebrow raised, “Can you tell me more about my eye?”

The man rolled his shoulders and sat down on the edge of his bed, lost in thought for a moment, “I don’t know that much. Just what she told me.”

“By she you mean the…” She tried to recall what Toland had said, “Reaper of Beacon?”

A wistful smile appeared on his face for a second before vanishing, replaced by a neutral expression, “Her name was Ruby Rose. She was the first friend I ever made at Beacon Academy and a genius huntress.”

Vermilion caught on to what he said, “Was?”

“Yes. Was. She died. Almost twenty years ago.” The blond man’s voice grew gravely at that.

“What...What happened to her.”

He looked at her sharply, “She died.” 

End of discussion.

“What about that cult? Is there anything else you can tell me?”

He leveled his gaze at her for a long time before sighing, “I suppose you’ll find out eventually. Might as well prepare you now. As you heard me say, the Cult of Salem, as they are officially known, is just that. A cult centered around their godlike figure known as Salem. What I didn’t say was that Salem is real.”

“A real god?!”

“No!” His voice raised for a split second until he lowered it again, “No. Salem is not a god. She is a monster. A monster that creates and controls the Grimm.”

Vermilion’s blood ran cold. 

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.”

“And she wants me dead?”

“Not exactly.”

This earned him a confused look.

“Your predecessor fought her. Salem has been inactive these last twenty years.”

This was a lot for the young girl to process, her mind reeled at the implications. If the Grimm were created by a single entity that meant that one being wanted all of humanity dead. That there were people who could worship such a being made her sick to her stomach. She strained to remember her other questions, not trusting the man to volunteer any information. He seemed to be content with silence, but she wasn’t.

“Are you going to train me?”

“No. That’s up to Beacon.”

“What if I want you to?”

“You don’t.”

Frustrated, Vermilion scowled at the man, “And how the hell d’you know what I want? How could you possibly know? You're not the one with crazy cultists hunting you!”

“Shut your mouth girl!” Jaune roared, “You don’t know what you’re speaking of, so I’ll forgive it. But don’t think for a second I haven’t been where you have.” 

Her mouth clicked as it shut, the look of fury in his eyes was the same one they held when he has slaughtered the zealots who were going to murder her. She looked away, still indignant. She heard a loud sigh and the atmosphere was gone again, Jaune just looked weary, almost frail. 

“Anything else you want to know?”

“Only if you give me complete answers.”

He fixed her with one baleful orb and she crossed her arms at him with one eyebrow raised. Eventually he nodded.

“You said you’ve been where I am, what did you mean?” She hedged.

“The Cult of Salem wants me dead a lot more than you, Vermilion. I’ve been causing them problems for a long time.”

“What kind of problems?”

“I hunted them.” Was all he said and to be honest it was all he needed to.

She had seen him utterly dismantle the group that had kidnapped her. He had been swift and decisive. Not flashy like most hunstmen Toland complained about. His style seemed brutal yet effective and she had to wonder what he had been through to develop such a style.

“Okay. I can get that. What about aura then? Mom wasn’t… the best at explaining things. She just told me it was a force field.”

The edge of his lips twitched up for a second, “Sort of like a force field. Aura is the manifestation of your soul. The stronger your soul the more aura reserves you have, or so the saying goes. However it doesn’t just automatically protect you, you have to activate it and if you leave it on too long it will start to fatigue you.” 

Vermilion nodded along, wishing she had some sort of notebook. He started to explain the basics of aura control and that more advanced users could move more aura to certain parts of their body, increasing the efficiency of the protection and lessening the mental strain. It was hours later when he had to stop her, mentioning the time and at that she remembered her exhaustion. The soon to be huntress fell fast asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. 

  
  


Two figures sat in conference high atop Beacon Tower. The woman leaned on the desk, steepling her fingers as she considered the man before her. They had known each other a very long time indeed but what he was asking of her wasn’t something she couldn’t just grant.

“I don’t care how long we’ve known eachother, you know as well as I do that I just can’t allow another person to join the academy. She has no training and there’s no telling if she’ll be fit for the role. It would be unfair to fit her to a team, for them and her. The students her have been training since they were eleven. She’s seventeen.”

The other leaned forward in response, “So was Arc.”

“Arc faked his way into Beacon.”

“And if I said Headmaster Ozpin already knew?”

“Don’t you mean that you knew?”

“Forgive me Glynda. You know how hard it gets to separate memories.”

“Believe me Oscar, I don’t. But I will take your word for it.”

The man with the silver cane nodded at the elder woman. 

“Give her a chance.” He continued after taking a sip from his mug, “Let her stay in the dorms. Catch up. After a time let her try to fit in with one of the teams. Perhaps Ms. Belladonna’s team?”

Glynda levelled one of her iconic glares at the man, though he went unfazed by it, as he took yet another drink from his mug.

“Ms. Belladonna has been complaining ever since her team landed initiation with only three members.”

“Yes. That was quite the unfortunate accident, what happened to Mr. Trudeau, but you cannot argue with Ms. Belladona’s team’s accomplishments.”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

“Like mother like daughter, team RWBY was much the same way when they were in school.”

Glynda brushed a lock of her grey-blond hair back behind her ear and took a long sip of her tea, eyes closing and the mellow flavor.

“What did it cost you to get Jaune to go?” Glynda asked, seemingly changing topics effortlessly. When Oscar raised and eyebrow at her she merely returned the gesture. When it was clear she would not give up he sighed.

“The favor he owed me. I merely cached it in.”

“And you think it wise to send him? After what happened-”

“That is precisely why I sent him. Jaune Arc is a capable huntsman, I’d say equal to Yang in some respects, and his past makes him perfectly suited to guarding young miss Ash.”

Glynda merely glowered at him, showing her disapproval of that kind of manipulation of a broken man. When it came to enemies and danger he was certainly put together enough but he had no social life and seemed to exist merely for revenge.

“Is it wise to send someone with a deathwish?”

“Deathwish? Is that truly all you see in him now Glynda? Was it not you who said the man had incredible potential?”

“Had being the operative word Oscar.”

“Still does. He is a man who has lost the woman who meant the most to him. He is not broken he just needs purpose.”

“And you believe this young woman is it?”

“Perhaps. Jaune Arc is too valuable to lose. Besides, I couldn’t send anyone else anyways.”

Glynda nodded in reluctant acceptance of his reasoning, it was true, there was no one else to really send like that. She made her decision. 

“Very well Oscar. I will have a guest dorm prepared for Ms. Ash.”

“Thank you. And as for her training?”

“I will notify Professor Xiao-Long.”

“Thank you Glynda. And good night.” 

Oscar stood with a final sip from his mug and left the room, silver cane tapping against the floor. Meanwhile Glynda looked at all the paperwork and sighed,  _ No wonder he didn’t want to be Headmaster again. _

  
  


* * *

  
  


“I thought you weren’t going to train me?”

“Well if you’re going to complain…”   
  


“I’m not complaining!”

Jaune raised his eyebrow at the young, brown haired girl who was holding his sword in a pale imitation of his own stance. With a sigh he pushed off the tree he was leaning on and approached her. He moved her arms upwards, adjusted her grip, and widened her stance until she was standing correctly. 

The pair had stopped for a regular brake and he had decided to give her a little of the basics, in case something happened on the way to Vale of course. They hadn’t seen the last of the Cult and he couldn’t very well have the girl freezing up on him. She may have had aura now but it wouldn’t do any good if she didn’t know how to use it, which had brought them to the situation they were in. 

“The weapons of Hunters are sharp but what makes them so deadly is aura. It can be extended out of the body to coat a weapon and increase it’s sharpness exponentially.”

Vermilion stared at him, the meaning going over her head. With another put upon sigh he drew his knife from his belt and almost lazily swiped if across a bough just above his head. The branch, thicker than his arm, fell from a clean cut. 

“This will become second nature to you, just like defending with your aura. Now focus. Imagine the blade in your hand as an extension of yourself. As it becomes a part of you so too does your aura recognize the weapon.”

She opened on eye, “How will I know when I’ve done it?”

Jaune shrugged and stepped to the side of the tree that was behind him, “When you think you’ve got the feeling I want you to try to cut this tree down.”

“The whole tree?” She asked, eyeing the thickness of the trunk.

“No only a little. YES the whole tree. Shut up and concentrate.”

With some grumbling the young woman did as she was told and concentrated. In her bare hands she felt the wrapped leather of the hilt. In her mind she could even trace the ornate, golden guard and the bright silver blade that had a hint of gold running up it. Despite being unfamiliar with the blade itself she could picture it clearly in her mind. It felt natural, as if it belonged. 

Slowly she opened her eyes, gaze focused on the tree trunk. Her two hands tightened on the grip and she lunged forward, stepping several paces whilst bringing the blade up over her shoulder. Vermilion tried to remember Jaune’s words, she put her whole upper body into the swing, twisting her torso so that, when she brought the blade down diagonally, it had the force of her body and not just her arms behind it.

All of a sudden she was stopped, the sword’s tip buried in the ground and dirt kicked up into the air. Time came crashing back, the tree toppling over and an intense numbness filled her hands. She dropped the sword and shook her hands out, desperate to get the feeling back. Her eyes drifted to the stump, a clean cut and furrow in the ground tracing the path of her swing. Vermilion had felt almost nothing as her blade had cleaved into the tree, just a faint resistance. 

“That was amazing!” She exclaimed, pumping her fists into the air, “Did you see that!” 

She looked to the blond knight as he picked up and sheathed his sword. He regarded her a moment, “Congratulations. Now you’re at the starting line.”

“Ugh, can’t you be happy for, like, one second? I just cut down a tree in one swing!”

“And so can any signal student, the youngest of which are thirteen.”

She huffed and crossed her arms, looking away, “It was cool to me.” She said in a low voice. 

* * *

Jaune’s rear hit the stool as he ordered a drink at the town bar. He couldn’t help but think back to the lesson he had imparted the young Vermilion not a few hours ago. It normally took months of training for a hunter to be able to extend aura to a weapon but this girl had done it so naturally. Was that the power of the silver-eyed warriors? He shook his head. Too many questions. And he didn’t want the answers. The girl would be out of his hair soon enough and he could finally be even with Oscar. 

The girl in question sat down next to him, subtly rubbing the small of her back underneath her cloak. Jaune would never admit it but he felt the pain too, that’s what the brandy was for. He could blame his mentor, Qrow, for that particular predilection. One didn’t spend years around the man without getting used to drinking and considering the daunting task they had undertaking, alcohol had been imbibed regularly. He ordered another drink and the young woman looked at him questioningly as another arrived, it was colorful with a small umbrella in it. 

“Strawberry Sunrise. I hear it’s pretty good.”

She took a sip of the red cocktail, considering face until she shrugged and took a bigger drought from the glass, “Thought you were supposed to be the responsible adult here?”

“Who said I was responsible?” He asked with a serious face, “Besides. You’re going to be a huntress now. Given the thing’s you’re gonna go through a little alcohol is nothing.”

A worried look passed her face, no doubt questioning why she was becoming a huntress before remembering that she had little choice to begin with. 

“How long till we get to Vale?”

“Evening tomorrow, thereabouts.”

Vermilion hummed in response and sipped her drink more, no doubt enjoying the sweet flavor. The bar was loud and raucous, full of miners and some other workers blowing steam. One such patron stumbled near them and caught himself on the bar next to the silver eyed woman. In his drunken stupor he smiled at her and to her credit she managed not to cringe. Instinctively Jaune’s hand strayed towards his weapon, but he forced it back up on the counter. 

“Hey there. Never seen eyes quite like yours. What’s an’ angel like you doin’ here?”

Vermilion put on a fake smile, “Just passing through.”

“Oh? Jus’ passin’ through? Well why don’ you come over n’ drink with me? Commemorate th’ occcashun? He put his hand on her shoulder and smiled, Jaune noticed her stiffen slightly. The blond knight was almost halfway out of his seat when she replied.

“How about a no?”

“No? Why? We’re pro'ly more fun than grumpy beard o’er here.” The drunk man spat in Jaune’s direction.

“She said no.” Jaune said in a low growl, hoping the man would sense the danger and back off.

He did not.

The drunken man stepped up to Jaune, standing a head shorter than the knight, “Why don’ you let the lady speak fer herself, eh?”

“She already said no. Go back to your drinks.” He forced his tone to be neutral. 

“How about a no.” That was it, then, as the man swung his first at Jaune. The blond didn’t even bother dodging. The first impacted his jaw with all the force of a wet noodle, his hand crumpling against the knight’s aura. 

Jaune stepped forward, placing a foot between his legs, and force him down by body checking him. The drunkard cradled his arm, shouting about how his hand was broken or something. The blond knight slapped the lien for the drinks on the counter and started walking out. Vermilion downed the rest of hers and followed after. 

“That was pretty cool, Jaune.”

He stopped and turned to her, breath fogging in the cool night, “Aura makes a massive difference. In the future you would be wise to remember this night. You could easily kill a civilian with your bare hands. All it would take is a careless punch. Don’t make my mistakes.”

That seemed to suck all the wind out of her as he turned and strode in the direction of an inn they had rented at. 

“You’d better get some rest soon. We have an early day tomorrow. I plan on being at Beacon by midday.”

“Will you be staying at Beacon too?”

“No.”

Her heart fell a little at the reply. They had only known each other for several days now but he had been the one to save her. Just from simple conversation she could tell the man was hurt. Maybe she didn’t know how to help him but she wouldn’t get the chance if they never saw each other again. She wasn’t so blind she couldn’t see the way he looked at her. There was wariness and a little bit of fear. Maybe he thought she hadn’t noticed be she had made note of the times he’d had to catch himself, like he was saying too much. 

It was frustrating for her. She had so many questions and he barely answered any of them. Her eyes settled on his back as she followed after him, drawing her hood against the chill. 

If he didn’t want to open up then she’d have to find a pry bar.

  
  



	3. Issue #3

Issue #3

  
  


* * *

Vale. This was her first time seeing the enormous city, no that was too tame a description. The only word that fit the place was metropolis. Her head craned around and stared at all of the tall buildings as she held onto Jaune on the back of Silverhawk. All the fatigue from the hard push to get here was forgotten as the the countryside girl took in the sights of the city. The wall of Vale had taken her breath away, a ninety foot tall marvel of engineering. Massive cannons lined the rampart, ready to destroy any Grimm that dared come close.

From what she remembered in the small classes they held in Northrend, the Vale wall was manned by several hundred soldiers and a small complement of Hunters. The wind whistled past her hair and she just couldn’t stop the smile that spread as a result.

“If you open your mouth that wide you’re gonna start catching flies.”

And there went the smile. What did he have eyes in the back of his head too? 

“This is my first time in the city, Jaune.” Vermilion pouted though the effect was lost since he couldn’t see it. And there she saw it, on the horizon, Beacon Academy. 

It sat there majestically framed by the sky, the famous tower stretching up into the sky like a symbol of hope. A constant watch against evil at the kingdom’s walls. The pictures she had seen didn’t do it justice. 

When they finally arrived at the bullhead docks the tower of the academy leaned imperiously over the city. Jaune had parked Silverhawk in the temporary storage and boarded the bullhead for Beacon with her. She looked all around her and noticed figures dressed in uniforms. Girls in plaid skirts and men in suits. A couple of the girls giggled as they caught her staring at them.

“You might want to pick your jaw up the floor.” Vermilion scowled at the comment from Jaune but nonetheless focused her eyes outside the window. A certain sense of vertigo came over her as she looked down at the fading city and towards the rapidly approaching academy. The grounds of Beacon occupied enough space to equal the whole of Northrend. There was something mind boggling about a school as big as a small village.

They stepped off the bullhead last, Vermilion taking in the grand tower. She felt so out of her depth and didn’t noticed the tremendous crash as a golden missile collided with Jaune. The man himself barely moved but now attached to him was a massive amount of golden hair connected to a woman. 

“Hey Jaune~” The woman cooed as she rubbed a finger down his cheek, “It’s been ages since I saw you. Don’t you love me?”

“I don’t.” The man stated simply, like having a gorgeous woman hanging off of him was a normal occurrence. Maybe it was?

“Gasp!” The woman actually said the word as she laid her arm across her eyes, dramatically swooning, “My heart?”

She stopped and fixed one lilac eye on him from under her arm, “Well damn Jaune, you’re no fun.”

“Have I ever been?”

“Uh, yeah? But whatever.” She fixed her eyes and smile on Vermilion who felt a strong urge to run from the new blonde, “And what do we have here? This the girl?”

“No this is just some random woman I picked up off the street.” Jaune said without missing a beat.

“Touche. Heya, my name is Yang Xiao-Long. People around here call me Professor Xiao-Long. Welcome to Beacon.”

The blonde stuck her hand out and Vermilion tentatively took it, “I’m Vermilion Ash.”

“Behind me standing like a bunch of deer is team BSK or, well, team Bisque.” The professor motioned to a trio of girls all wearing the Beacon uniform. 

The first one, a cat faunus, had long raven colored hair braided to the middle of her back. Bright amber eyes that shone when she smiled and waved, “Hey there. Aunt Yang told us to come guide you around Beacon, I’m Noel Belladona.” 

She scowled when she was cuffed in the back of the head, “It’s professor at Beacon Noel!”

Ignoring the grumbling the next one did a polite bow towards Vermilion who clumsily returned it, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Vermilion. My name is Willa Schnee. I will be in your care.” Her white hair stood out against her tanned complexion.

The last member of the team waved excitedly and Vermilion couldn’t help but stare at her pointy, wide brimmed hat, “I’m Silvia Keppel! I like your eyes!” 

“Um…. hi?” The young woman didn’t know quite how to respond to the others and took a half-step back before she was caught in an iron-like grip. The blonde teacher had her and to her horror had Jaune in the other hand. Judging by the glare, it wasn’t willingly. 

“Now let’s all go meet the headmistress!”

Vermillion let herself be steered by the woman but couldn’t help but notice she had a vice-like grip on Jaune’s forearm. Was the headmistress really so scary that the blond kept trying to run away?

She soon got her answer when the elevator dinged opening the group to a large room and a single woman sitting behind the desk. 

Now she knew why he kept trying to leave. 

The woman was the definition of stern. Her sharp eyes studied the young woman from behind glasses and her silver-blonde hair was done up in a neat bun. 

“Thank you Yang.”

“Sure thing Gly- Headmistress.” She changed her address as soon as those green eyes narrowed.

The stern glare softened when trained on Vermilion but the young girl gulped anyways.

“Miss Ash. Welcome to Beacon Academy. I must say that your situation is… unusual. You will be allowed to sit in on the coursework. In seven months the first year teams will be embarking on their first missions. At that time you will be assigned to team Bisque here and your performance will be judged. That is the best I can offer you as Headmistress of the academy.”

“That’s… more than fair for someone like me.” Goodwitch glanced up at the other two adults in the room with a raised eyebrow. Professor Xiao-Long shrugged and Jaune’s face was the picture of neutrality. 

“Girls, if you’d please show Miss Ash around the campus?”

“With pleasure Ma’am!” Noel exclaimed, almost dragging the brunette back into the elevator. As the door closed, not once did Jaune look back at her.

  
  


* * *

Jaune waited patiently as Glynda shuffled some papers on the desk until she signaled the pair to sit down. Yang did but the man remained standing, making it clear his intentions were not to stay long.

“I can see the similarities. I don’t know if it’s the eyes but she seems so much like Miss Rose.”

Jaune stiffened uncomfortably. He didn’t like this. He’d noticed too, and then tried very hard not to. Coming to mind was the image of a very excited Ruby Rose as she talked about her weapon, Vermilion had the same expression when she’d cut that tree down. 

“I know right?! I could hardly resist the urge to pick her up and squeeze her. I’m glad you found her Jaune. I don’t wanna know what those Salemites would have done to her.” 

“I almost didn’t get there on time.” Jaune proceeded to fill them in on what had happened in Northrend. By the time he was done Yang’s eyes were crimson, matching the deep frown she wore on her face. Glynda’s face was less telling but her scowl was made of granite. 

“I’m glad that she’s alive then. I’m surprised she’s not affected by the experience.” Glynda leaned back in her chair, picking up a mug of tea and inhaling the scent before taking a sip.

“Ruby was a lot like that too. A little off, like she was made of different stuff than the rest of us. Jaune have you noticed anything?”

The blond ran a hand along his chin, “Not really. Though, she did pick up aura control fast. She cut down a tree in a single strike minutes after I handed her Crocea Mors.”

Yang let out a low whistle, “Damn. That’s fast.”

“Indeed. It looks like there may be more to the destined warrior aspect of the silver eyes than it seems.” 

The two women nodded and Jaune made to leave but was stopped by Glynda.

“Please wait Jaune.” He closed his eyes, sensing what was coming next, “I want to ask you to stay and oversee the girl’s physical training.” 

“With all due respect Glynda. No. You have a school full of teachers here who can do a better job than me. I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for what I owed Oscar.” He turned around and met the woman’s eyes. They weren’t stern. Instead there was a look he had only seen a few times on the woman’s face. It was a sad look when a student had died on her watch. He had seen it when Ruby had died and again when Ren and Nora died. The woman held the life of each student dear to her and each death was a personal blow.

He had seen her take that loss out on Mercury Black.

It was this look that froze him in place, all anger fading away as she pleaded with him, eyes weary from witness so much death.

“Jaune. Do you feel nothing for this girl? You are right we have teachers here who could train her but they have other students to teach. None can spare the time to give the girl the dedicated training she needs to catch up in time. This could be a matter of life and death for her.”

“I don’t want to be pulled into this again. Not after what this did to Ruby.”

“Professor Pine isn’t asking this of you, I am. And this isn’t about Salem, but the life of Vermilion. I’m not asking you to fight for the cause anymore, you’ve done more than enough. All I’m asking is that you share your knowledge with this girl so that maybe she can live free.”

His irritation and anger could find no purchase against the pleading look on Glynda’s face. He respected the woman far too much.

“Fine. I’ll do it. For her.”

“Don’t worry Jaune, I’ll be helping out where I can.” Yang piped up, a wide smile on her face. 

Jaune could just hope he didn’t come to regret this, he didn’t want to watch another person die. 

“Since you’ll be taking on an active role in Miss Ash’s development, coming to and from Vale would be rather inconvenient. I’ll arrange a guest dorm for you and send the details to your scroll.”

Jaune nodded as he stepped into the elevator and Yang slipped in with him as the doors began to close. 

“Thanks Jaune.” Yang quipped as the carriage began to descend, “I know it won’t be easy staying here but she really needs you.”

The blond knight merely hummed his reply. When the doors opened, he froze as he saw who was at the bottom. Oscar Pine stood there with his silver cane in his hand. He nodded to the both of them, “Yang, Jaune. It’s nice to see you back from that mission. Did everything go well?”

Jaune refused to say anything as he pushed past the man and made his way down the hallway. Yang hung back but Oscar turned, “Jaune. Please wait!”

In spite of wanting to be anywhere _he_ wasn’t, he stopped to listen, not turning around but cocking his head to the side.

“Thank you Jaune. It means a lot that you did this.”

Jaune had to resist a sneer, “I didn’t do it for you, _Ozpin_ , I did it for her.”

Without leaving a chance for a reply he vanished through the doors and felt a buzzing from his scroll. Opening it he found the details Goodwitch had promised him. He made his way to the docks. If he was going to be staying at Beacon there were some arrangements to make.

  
  


* * *

“How was he?!” Vermilion blinked at the sudden question, looking up from her mashed potatoes too look at the girl who addressed her. 

“Who?

“Mister Arc of course!” Her raven haired guide said as she sat down at the table in the cafeteria they had claimed with her own tray of food, “Jaune Arc the Paladin. He’s famous. Didn’t you know?”

“Sorry. Didn’t get much news in Northrend, at least not old news.” She shrugged.

“Well tell us about what he’s like. Aunt Yang told us stories all the time about their group in the old days. She just doesn’t talk a lot about him. There are a couple, though, that she’s told. Like the time him and the Reaper killed a Grimm dragon while everyone else held off hordes of Grimm.”

The girls amber eyes practically sparkled, even the others had an interest. Silvia stared with rapt attention and Willa looked out of the corner of her eye from the book she was reading.

“There’s not much to say. He’s… gruff. Kind of a dick at times.” Willa’s eyes widened and she looked positively scandalized, “But… I get the feeling that he cares, just doesn’t wanna show it. Ya know?”

“I get you. Dad says Mom was like that a long time ago. Says she mellowed out once they had me.”

“Anyways,” Willa spoke up, changing the subject, “what kind of weapon do you use?”

“I, uh, don’t know. I don’t really have one.” The three of them simply stared, “Cut me some slack, I only got my aura, like, three days ago.”

“Right, my apologies Vermilion. I suppose that was rude of me.”

The brunette just waved it off, “It’s not like you really knew. I’m just some stranger who’s shown up. Honestly I don’t have any training except a little in aura control that Jaune taught you.”

Noel latched onto the subject like a drowning man to a life raft, “Oh?! What kind of training was it.”

“Not really sure. He called it aura projection.”

“Ugh, I hated doing that. Months of meditation and holding my spear like an idiot. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great, just boring to learn.”

“Really? I thought it was interesting. I mean you can cut down trees in a single strike and stuff.” Everyone started giving her a funny look, “What?”

Willa cleared her throat, “Nothing, Vermilion. It’s just rather strange to be able to do that so quickly.”

“Am…. Am I weird?!” The worried response just got a laugh from the black haired faunus.

“Oh gods no Mili. The weird one here is Silvia.” She drew close and whispered, “She thinks she’s a witch.”

“I am too a witch!” the green haired girl replied indignantly.

“See?” Noel sported a wide smile and even the pout from Silvia held no true heat. Vermilion let out a small giggle.

“So since we’re talking about weapons. What do you guys use?”

It was Willa who replied first, “I inherited mine from my father. It’s a three stage rifle with a glaive and trident formation.”

“I use a dust staff to cast my spells.” The vague explanation came from the girl with a witch hat atop her head.

“And last of all I use a variable spear. But, see, mine’s special.” When Vermilion raised her eyebrow at the girl she leaned in conspiratorially, “It’s a Ruby Rose custom. See ‘fore she died, the reaper layed out schematics and gave them to her friends. The woman was a weapons genius. There’s nothing out there close to my Rubra Aurora.”

“Hmmm, That’s honestly kind of awesome. I know Jaune knew her but he refused to speak about her.”

“Heh, you wanna know more about her you gotta ask her sister.” A knowing smile coming from the faunus girl, “Professor Xiao-Long, also known as the Golden Dragon, was her older sister.”

Vermilion gasped, recalling the raucous older woman who seemed incredibly friendly with Jaune. A gasp came from Silvia who held a hand to her mouth.

“Noel, do you think the Professor and Mister Arc are dating?”

“Heh? That old hag? Doubt it. The only way she’d get a man would be if she pinned him down and proceeded to-” She froze as a shadow fell over her. She looked up to see red eyes and blond hair. Noel’s face drained of color.

“By all means. Finish that sentence Miss Belladona.” If anything the girl sat straighter and the sound of her name. She refused to speak and only shook her head, “No? Well then I suppose a punishment is in order.” 

Quickly she grabbed the faunus girl in a headlock and rubbed her fist into the top of the girl’s hair, right between her ears. A low keening whine escaped the girl until she was let go. Gingerly she nursed the top of her head. Silvia leaned over to whisper to Vermilion.

“The students also call her Demon Eyes. If they go red, run. Though no one’s managed to escape.”

Seemingly satisfied that justice had been dispensed, the blonde woman turned to Vermilion and tossed her something across the table. Catching it reveal a small, whitecased scroll. 

“There ya go, one Beacon issued scroll. That’ll act as your key to your dorm room.”

Professor,” Willa spoke up, “Noel was wondering if she might stay with us tonight?”

“I got no problem with it. Be nice you guys. Or I’ll tell your mothers.” Both Willa and Noel paled a little at the prospect. 

Silvia just laughed, “Don’t worry, we’re already friends.” 

With a chuckle the blond left, with a last parting gesture to Noel indicating she was watching her. 

“Um, is the Professor always like that?”

“Kind of. Mostly because of those two though.” Silvia slid next to her so their shoulders were touching, “See their mums were teammates with her. They act like family half the time.”

“Isn’t Headmistress Glynda afraid of favoritism?”

“Heh maybe if they hadn’t proven they were the strongest in our year in the first week.”

“How’d they do that?” Vermilion asked, she could sense a story there.

“Right, so, there was a team that was always complaining about them, knew about the whole relationship between them an all. So the Professor, what does she do? She tells all four of the team to come down to the combat ring, then makes Noel do it too. Tells ‘em ‘If you can beat Noel then she doesn’t deserve her ranking’.”

Vermilion took a quick glance at the faunus still nursing her head and grumbling about revenge, “What happened?”

Silvia chuckled, a small smile stole across her lips, “She beat them all without her aura going into the yellow. That’s when your aura reaches the halfway point.” She added when she saw the brunette’s confused look.

“That’s… pretty awesome.”

“Yup, and it shut everybody up when she asked if anyone wanted to duel Willa.” 

The girl in question scoffed while reading her book, “Showing off is not something a Schnee does. That’s why I left it up to Noel.” Closing the book after placing a bookmark the white haired girl stood up, “I shall retire to our room.” With a nod towards them the girl strode out of the cafeteria.

“Eh, I guess that’s our cue too.” Noel stood up, “It’s getting late and they’re about to close the cafeteria soon. Might as well go back to our room. We can have a slumber party.” 

Vermilion stood, slinger her bag back over her shoulders as she did so. She actually felt pretty good considering how hard Jaune had pushed for them to get there. Her thoughts drifted to the man who had saved her life but three days ago. He’d left and maybe she wouldn’t see him again. That was a possibility. 

But now she was surrounded by people that he knew so just maybe she could. It had to be inevitable, right? She’d heard him in his sleep. The fitful murmurs and constant shifting, a tortured sleep. He had saved her, could she do the same?

Her musing were interrupted as they arrived at the dorm of team BSK. It was a standard affair. Each bed was like a terrarium. One had clothes sprinkled about it, another was meticulously neat and tidy. The third had some odd decoration on the nightstand, a carving of a black cat as well as several other wooden statues that she couldn’t recognize. The fourth bed was abandoned and the girl set her pack onto it. The others were changing into their pajamas so she figured she’d get comfortable too. Folding her cloak carefully she put it into the pack and finally removed her pendant last. 

It was something her mother had given her when she was ten. The pendant itself was a re-purposed brooch so it was a little large but nonetheless she ran her thumb over the familiar rose relief, fingers tracing the edges as she thought of her mother. Would she be proud? She hoped so.

With a small kiss she placed it into her pack and then sat on the bed as the other girls launched into stories.


	4. Issue #4

Issue #4

  
  
  


* * *

A flaming spear jabbed towards Jaune’s face. Almost lazily he leaned his head to the right and it flew past, the intense heat made his skin prickle and the keening sound of the mechanisms inside the spear hurt his ear. Using his left hand he swept Noel’s spear away and stabbed at her with Crocea Mors. She used the momentum of his sweep to block with the butt of her spear but was sent sprawling by the force of it.

Before he could follow up on her a blur of white came at him from the side. Stepping into Willa’s range the huntsman sidestepped the strike. She flicked the blade up and to the side, trying to catch him mid-step but he had already expected this and brought Crocea Mors down on the glaive with enough force to drive it into the dirt. A quick switch and the weapon retracted, transforming into a rifle which she started firing. 

Deflecting projectiles was a surprisingly easy task, all one needed was experience and good visual acuity. A hunter didn’t need to be faster than the bullet but rather the one firing it. From the angle of a firearm you could tell the trajectory and thus moving to deflect or block it once it was fired. Willa’s weapon fired relatively slowly allowing him to adjust for each shot she made. 

He felt something at his feet and swept his blade behind him, out of the corner of his eye he say Silvia dance back into the air. She hovered there, well out of reach, on her staff weapon. There was a large gravity dust crystal on each end and she looked much like the witch she claimed to be. Her hand went into her cloak and came out with a handful of Dust. Triggering it with her aura she let it fly towards him, a bolt of electricity thundering between them. 

As he made to twist aside he found his feet had been encapsulated in ice, also her doing, so the bolt hit him. His muscles tensed and jerked as the electricity passed through him. His aura tanked most of the damage but afterwards he could still feel the numbness. When he looked back, Willa was on one knee, her rifle pointed at him and the famous Schnee glyphs directly in front of the weapon. Knowing what was about to come he quickly hacked apart the ice and crouched on one knee as well. 

Jaune grabbed the sheath of Crocea Mors and expanded it in the same second the Schnee fired. Angling the shield he caught the empowered projectile directly on the surface and felt is slide off his shield and deflect in a direction. The direction, not coincidentally, was right at Silvia whose eyes widened at the incoming projectile before being blasted off her staff and onto the ground. 

The other two girls followed up the shot, charging him. Willa with glyph enhanced speed and her weapon in trident form while Noel was right behind her, spear point low to the ground. Using his shield he battered Willa aside and followed up with a pommel strike to her temple. Noel vaulted with her spear, aiming a kick at his head that he ducked under. Dropping his blade Jaune grabbed her leg and flung her into her partner. Grabbing the blade once more he observed his handiwork.

Jaune stood alone on the field, Crocea Mors held loosely in hand. Around him lay the bodies of three young women whose chests heaved as they gasped for air. Vermilion came to a stop, lungs burning. She’d been running off and on for two hours, a feat she hadn’t been capable of before she’d had her aura unlocked. Jaune gave her brief breaks every twenty minutes and his sharp glare at her told her it hadn’t yet passed. She spurred her tired legs onwards for yet another lap around the field. 

Her muscles quivered and her speed was nonexistent as she struggled to move forward. Instead, her legs buckled and she hit the grass. Mentally she pushed but not even her arms could make her get up. A shadow loomed over her and she twisted around to see Jaune stood over her, his expression unreadable.

“I… Don’t think I can…. Go any…. More.” She got out between gasps.

“You’re done running. Here.” Jaune handed her a bottle full of water. Vermilion took it and greedily gulped down the cool liquid. The girl was drenched in sweat but even she felt bad for her new friends. Team BSK was now in an upright position having been thoroughly trounced in a training spar by the blond knight. Professor Xiao-Long sat on a nearby bench, doubled over and laughing. 

Wiping a tear from her eye the teacher stood up and took off her gloves, “You kids ever see real Hunters fight?” The girls didn’t seem to get it but apparently Jaune did because he groaned.

“Yang, no.” 

“Yang, yes.” She replied while taking her jacket off. This was the first time Vermilion had seen the teacher without long sleeves and now she wondered how she had never noticed the professor only had one arm. The other, her right arm, was prosthetic from just above the elbow. It was painted yellow and black, colors that suited her, and gleamed in the midday sun. 

A wide grin and she pushed off the ground in a flash, prosthetic fist making a clear ringing sound against Crocea Mors, “Dammit Yang!”

It was too late. Yang’s eyes gleamed as she grinned furiously at the blond man, “Too late, Jaune! A teacher needs her exercise.” 

Another fist flew at his face and with a low growl he drew and raised his shield. Even after all these years, Yang still hit like a truck. No matter how much he improved she had continued to strive forwards as well. He knew he couldn’t ever beat her in a life or death battle, but in a spar where she couldn’t show all of her power? They were far more even. 

Yang kept up her assault which he was forced to block, he didn’t have the time to dodge. Crocea Mors darted out from behind his shield, stabbing at her eyes. The blade’s edge skittered off her cheek, deflected by aura and she just grinned wider. She had always loved a good challenge. 

Being on the defence against someone like Yang was a terrible place to be so the blond decided to go on the offensive. Timing it on the next strike he batted her fist away with his shield and stabbed out center mass at the same time. Her other hand came around and deflected the blade with the back of the hand. Jaune had predicted this and the edge of his shield was already rushing towards her face. 

With incredible speed she ducked low and under his guard, her arms pulled in tight. As she rose her fist rocketed into his jaw with all the force of a meteor. He knew what was coming next. The force of the blow lifted him off the ground and she spun in midair delivering a vicious kick to his stomach.

Flying back a dozen feet Jaune managed to roll to his feet in time to block Yang’s fist. The impact rang out like a crash and he felt his knees get driven into the ground. Another impact and then another as she rained powerful blows down upon his shield. Thinking fast he swept his blade low, under his shield, and caught the edge on her shin which had her dancing back. 

A quick grin at him and she lowered her fists, “Heh, still got it, eh Jaune? I think that’s enough of a demonstration, if we start destroying the grounds Goodwitch will have my ass.”

Only after he was certain she wasn’t going to attack him did he sheath his weapon. His stomach smarted where she had kicked him, Yang was a monster like usual. He looked to the girls who were sitting up and had been observing their impromptu bout. Jaune strode over to Vermilion as Yang went to talk to team BSK.

Shakily she stood up next to Jaune, water bottle now empty, “That was crazy. How do you guys move like that?”

“Lot’s of practice.” She stared at him and he just shrugged. Over on the other side of the grounds Yang could be seen talking to the team. The blonde professor may have been wild once but she loved her job. Surprisingly she took it very seriously, just like her father.

“So what’s next?”

“I’ll have you rest then we’ll do some muscle training. Sit-ups, push-ups, the like.”

Vermilion groaned inwardly. She was already dead tired and he was going to make her do more?

  
  
  


* * *

The brunette girl’s backside hit the bench hard. Everything ached. Her muscles and her bones from her head to her toes. There wasn’t a single bit of her that didn’t hurt.  _ This is going to be my life,  _ she thought to herself. Jaune had spread the training throughout the day but now that the sun was going down he had told her to head inside and clean up. 

They’d be doing this again tomorrow.

He’d told her she’d have lighter sessions on the weekday so she could attend classes but the weekends were going to be brutal. She’d almost started whining right there. Yang had promised that the regimen would only be until she could catch up in physical fitness. With aura automatically healing the body someone like her could afford to push far beyond what a normal citizen could in terms of training. Muscles were made stronger by tearing and then healing, one could build muscle faster if you could train every day without waiting as long to let your muscles heal. 

She slipped out of her hood and folded it onto the bench next to her. The other three girls had left hours ago, unwilling to be put through the training themselves and Jaune threatening to do so if they stayed. The professor had stayed though, something about making sure he wasn’t going to push her too hard on her first day. 

Her corset came undone and she slipped out of it, laying it on her cloak. One she was divested off all her clothes she laid down her precious necklace atop the pile of clothes. She ran her thumb over the relief, wishing of her mother that she could have the strength to keep moving forward. She missed her mother dearly. 

Though her mother had been gone for seven years now it didn’t make her miss the woman any less. She’d have done anything for her mother. Vermilion looked into the mirror and twirled a lock of brown hair in her fingers. She remembered how her mother used to space out and stare at her hair. How she said that her hair color reminded her of her father, not that she could really remember who that was. ‘It was just a feeling’ her mother had said. One day she had dyed it, never to go back again. What use did she have of hair that would only remind her mother of someone she didn’t know?

Her mother was gone but she’d never gone back to her original color. She didn’t need to. She had Toland and her memories of her mother, there was no reason to go back. Looking at the roots she could see a hint of blonde coming through. She would need to go get some more dye in Vale soon.

With a sigh Vermilion stepped into the shower, turning the hot water on and flinching at the cold water that came out until it started heating up. She felt her muscles relax.

“Hello~” A female voice called from the locker room, “How ya doing Mili?” 

“Doing alright Professor. Just… really sore.”

Musical laughter rang out over the sound of streaming water, “Sorry about Jaune. He can be a bit of a demon but he’s got your best interests at heart.”

Vermilion lathered up and started washing her hair, maybe it wasn’t as long and luscious as Professor Xiao-Long’s but she still liked to take care of it. 

“I know Professor. But I’m still gonna pass out tonight.”

More laughter, “You’ll get used to it. That’s the point, I guess. Hmm?”

The brunette rinsed out her hair, keeping her head under the stream, “Professor?”

“Hey Vermilion?” The woman’s voice sounded shaken, “Did your mother give you this necklace?”

“Hm? Yeah, for my tenth birthday.” Vermilion finished up her shower and toweled herself dry before wrapping up and stepping out. The professor had been unusually quiet this whole time but when she left the stall she saw the blonde teacher sitting on the bench next to her clothes, staring at her necklace which she held in her hands. 

The professor looked up at her, eyes wide and she shakingly reached into her breast pocket and pulled something that was folded over. 

“Did your mother happen to look like this?” She unfolded the paper and it turned out to be a photo. One person was undeniably a much younger version of the professor. On the sides was a black haired faunus girl and a white haired girl with a scar over one eye. But what really caught Vermilion’s attention was the young girl hanging off of the professor. She had dark hair with red highlights and a bright red cloak around her shoulders. Silver eyes adorned a bright smiling face.

There was no doubt, that was her mother. Younger by many years, yes, but it was her mother. 

“That’s… Mom?”

The professor covered her mouth with one hand and then surged forwards, enveloping the young girl in a hug, the brunette didn’t quite realize what happened until she put words to it.

“Vermilion. That makes you my niece.” She whispered, “That’s who your mother was. Ruby Rose. I can’t believe it. Ruby was alive. But I guess…She’s gone by now.”

“Yeah. Mom died seven years ago.” She answered woodenly, she was having trouble processing what, exactly, this meant. 

Yang just hugged the girl tighter, “I’m sorry, Vermilion. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

The brunette didn’t know what to say. What  _ could  _ she say. She suddenly had an aunt. She suddenly knew who exactly her mother was. All these years, with her mother fading away, she’d wondered where she’d come from. Who she was. What was the rest of her family like? So many questions throughout her childhood and now they were here, in her arms.

“We need to tell Jaune.” Yang pushed back and held the girl at arms length, looking into her eyes, “Jaune will want to know about this. And I have to tell the rest of the team.” 

She stood up and impatiently dialed something on her scoll and after several rings someone picked up, “Hey, Blake I got some news for you.”

“Yang? What’s up? Is it Noel?! What’d she do this time?”

Yang laughed, “No no, I’m not calling about your daughter. I have some insane news. When can you make it to Beacon?”

“Beacon? Can’t you just tell me now?”

“You won’t believe me unless you’re here.”

“Fine. It’ll take a week for me to get there by ship.” 

“See you soon kitten.”

“Dammit Ya-” The professor hung up and was already calling another number.

“This is Weiss Schnee.”

“Hey, Ice-Queen.”

“Yang. I’m busy, so if this is a social call…” The president let the threat of hanging up drift in the air.

“Not really. I’m calling because I’ve got huge news and you need to come to Beacon.”

“Is this regarding Willa?” Worry crossed her voice.

“Nah, your girl is fine.”

“I’m too busy to just fly across the world on a whim, Yang.”

“It’s regarding Ruby. I have some news and you’ll wanna be here for it.”

A pregnant pause, “I’ll be there in three days.” The line went dead and a smiling Yang put her scroll back in her pocket.

Vermilion was half dressed by that point and was struggling to put her pants on when the teacher whipped around, “We have to go tell Jaune right now. I just… I just hope he doesn’t take it badly.”

Vermilion looked up at the woman, “What do you mean? I get that he knew her but why would he react badly?”

Yang sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her prosthetic hand, “Ruby and Jaune were close. Really close. The night before we thought she died in the Grimmlands. He proposed.” The blonde professor looked Vermilion in the eyes, “Mili who was your father? How did you not know who your own mother was?”

“Amnesia.” She continued when the professor looked confused, “My mother had amnesia. Toland, the guy who helped raise me, found my mom wandering the Grimmlands half dead. When he took her in and nursed her back to health he discovered she was pregnant. With me. Since she couldn’t remember anything, not even who my father was, Toland brought her back and let her live with him.”

“So, you don’t know your own father?” The brunette nodded, “Well I think I do. You should be able to figure it out yourself, as well, by now.”

Vermilion thought about it, it really wasn’t that hard like the professor said. All the pieces were there. She thought to her original hair color, the fact that she was found in the Grimmlands, where she had disappeared from her friends and family. There was really only one conclusion.

“Jaune is my father?”

“Probably.”

“Oh. That’s...wow.” Vermilion sat down on the bench. She honestly didn’t know what to do with that information, “Probably?”

“It’s pretty much certain that if Ruby Rose is your mother, Jaune arc is your father.”

  
  


* * *

Jaune watched the sunset from atop a boulder that was nestled in the training field. He sat cross legged and stared at the orange and red hues as the orb of fire dipped below the horizon. The man hadn’t watched one since he and his fiancee had been together. 

Thoughts of her, like always, presented a dull throb in his chest. A constant aching chasm where his heart used to be. He could pretend well enough, get by from day to day. Jaune could hide the pain and soldier on because there were things that needed doing. At first it had been in her memory but the cost of that had been too high. How many people would have to die for  _ his  _ cause before it was enough. 

Ruby hadn’t won and now some other young girl was going to be sent in her place like a sacrificial lamb? No he would teach her. He would show her how to survive so she didn’t have to play Ozpin’s little game. Vermilion wouldn’t be a pawn, he’d make sure of it. 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the girl herself walking towards him from the direction of the locker and shower rooms with Yang in tow. The blonde professor didn’t have that sardonic smile like usual and Jaune’s eyes narrowed at them. Vermilion herself looked lost, dazed.

He hopped of the rock and met them halfway, “What’s wrong? What’s happened? Is she okay?”

Something in what he said must have amused Yang because she smiled and nudged the girl beside her with an elbow, “Nah. Nothing’s wrong but something did come up.” His head shot to her, “C’mon Mili, show him.”

“Um.. so… My mother gave this to me for my tenth birthday. She said as long as I had it, we’d always be together. Yang saw it and well… here…” Vermilion brought out something silver, it glinted red in the sunset’s light. The object itself took his breath away and sent him nearly twenty years back in time. His trembling hands reached out and brushed against the cool metal, feeling the rose pattern etched upon the surface. 

His mind began scrambling, piecing together what she had said and what he was holding in his hands. There was no doubt as to who this originally belonged to. Ruby had once told him it was a custom job, the only one in all of Remnant. 

“Ruby’s… your mother?” Jaune’s voice caught in his throat.

“Yes. Professor Ya-”

“Auntie~”

“Aunt Yang showed me a picture of her old team. It’s my mom.”

“How?” His voice was a hoarse whisper now. A burning series of questions raced through his head but he could barely articulate. 

“She survived the tower, Jaune.” It was Yang who spoke, “Someone found her wandering the Grimmlands, she had no memory of who she was or anything else. That person took her in when it was apparent she was with child. That child, Ruby’s child, is Vermilion. I feel like I shouldn’t have to say it but, well, just in case. Yeah, we think she’s your child too.”

_ Too? Mine?  _ The words swam slowly through his head.  _ Vermilion is my daughter? She survived? She didn’t die? We….left her there? _

The last thought was the damming one and he sat down rather forcefully, head in his hands, “Yang. We left her there.”

A pained look crossed her face but she didn’t say anything.

“We could have gotten her out, Yang. We could have brought her home!” 

Yang couldn’t meet his face and bit her lip until it almost bled. It wasn’t her who spoke next but someone else.

“No, Jaune. We couldn’t have gone back for her. When both you and Yang were wounded in that battle and the Grimm started spawning en masse there was no chance to go look for Ruby.” A man with a cane walked up, his hazel eyes calm in the light of the sunset, “Jaune, to stay would have doomed everyone there. Yourself, Yang, Blake, Weiss and all the others who rallied to our cause.”

“Your cause. Not mine. Not anymore.” Jaune spit it out while leveling his glare at the man, “It’s all your fault that Ruby died.” Whether it was in that blaster tower or alone with her daughter it doesn’t matter. It was all your fault that Vermilion couldn’t grow up with a father. She was alive, Oscar. For a decade she was living so close to us but we never saw it. Because  _ you  _ gave the order to retreat.” 

Jaune stood up and walked past the man, his shoulder bumping forcefully against the man as he walked into the halls of Beacon. Vermilion made to go after him but a firm hand on her shoulder stayed her. Yang shook her head mouthing ‘let him be’ at her. The man who Jaune had called Oscar came up to her.

“I don’t believe I’ve had the chance to introduce myself to you Ms. Ash. My name is Oscar Pine and I’m a professor here at Beacon Academy. I teach history.” 

He gave her the briefest hint of a smile before he forged on with what he wanted to say, “Originally I was coming over to see how you were adjusting to life in Beacon when I overheard your conversation. It is wonderful news to hear that Ms. Rose survived the events which led to us assuming her death. It is also unfortunate that with that news we hear again of her passing. May I ask how she died?”

Vermilion took a deep breath, it was an old wound and she supposed that these people, her mother’s friends, had a right to know, “Aura Decay. None of the doctors that Toland brought in could find a cause. Her aura was already weak when he found her in the Grimmlands but over the years it just… faded away. When it was completely gone she died. It’s… not something I like to remember.” 

Yang wrapped a hand around the girls shoulder and pulled her into the blonde’s side. Vermilion could feel the woman shaking slightly and when she looked up she could see barely restrained tears in her eyes. Professor Pine looked down and closed his eyes before once more addressing her.

“I see. Ms. Ash I believe I have a theory on what happened. I am by no means an expert on the silver eyed warrior but I have some rather sound theories. The silver eyes, to my knowledge, act as a conduit through which one can bare their soul and purify that which is around you. Grimm are made of negative emotions and so when they are gazed upon by a silver eyed warrior the pure positivity of the soul destroys the cluster of negativity. Now, I believe that when your mother faced Salem she put her entire soul into her attack. This left her empty. I wouldn’t go so far as to say soulless but rather in a state of decay. Her aura could no longer support her so it started withering away until it eventually reached zero.”

“Oh.” It was all the brunette could get out. 

“I’m afraid that even if we had been able to retrieve Ruby from the tower we would not have been able to stop the decay. She probably would have died regardless. I’m sorry Ms. Ash. If you want proof Beacon medical staff can provide a blood tests to see if you are, in fact, the child of Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc. Goodnight Ms. Ash, Yang.”

With a bow the man left leaving young Vermilion in the arms of her new aunt. Her biological aunt. And with that thought she made to go after Jaune again, her father. She didn’t know what she wanted to say. To yell at him for never being there? To see if he would treat her like a daughter? Could they even have a real relationship at this point? She was eighteen years old. All she knew was that the sight of his back as he left was so lonely. 

Yang tightened her grip, “It’s better if you leave Jaune to mull it over until the morning. This really isn’t something that he can just handle out of the blue like this. C’mon let’s get you back to team BSK’s dorm. You could use the rest.”

She could. Not only was she physically exhausted but mentally drained as well. The training made her limbs rubbery and sluggish but the events of the last twenty minutes had her head spinning. 

As she laid down to sleep that night the last thought she had before her mind drifted off to slumber was what was she going to say to him tomorrow?


	5. Issue #5

Issue #5

* * *

“High Priestess, I bring you news.”

The hooded figure turned to look at the newcomer in her dark chamber. Her gilded white robe had a blood red eye like symbol embroidered on the back. A shroud hung and concealed her face but pale red eyes gleamed from under the hood. They regarded the messenger with cold, almost lifeless eyes. 

“Speak.”

The man’s head was kept low as he kneeled in her presence, his forehead mere inches from the ground, “Yes, Your Grace. The team that was sent for the abomination was annihilated. The information we have from the Seed units are saying the girl was accompanied by Jaune Arc. She is currently residing in Beacon.”

Silence fell and the messenger didn’t dare raise his head or move an inch. He could almost feel the repressed rage from the High Priestess. 

“I want you to deliver a missive. Tell the Black Exodus to install Seeds in Vale. Should that silver eyes abomination show even a hair outside of Beacon she needs to be executed. Her taint cannot be allowed to remain so close to the awakening of our Goddess.”

“For our Goddess, High Priestess. I shall deliver your missive with haste.” The man backed out of the chambers with his head bowed low, never once taking his eyes off the floor. 

The ornate double doors closed with a click and the High Priestess turned back to look at her wooden desk. It was hand carved with the legs resembling Beowolf limbs, the wood stained a dark, almost black color. Sitting upon it was an expensive chess set, one of the last things the High Priestess had of her mentor. It was a special chess set as there was no Black King piece but rather only a Queen and filling the role that was normally played by a Queen piece was an even more ornate Bishop Piece. 

Ever so gently she picked up the knight piece made of ivory, turning it before her eyes, “Jaune Arc. It seems you have not been made to suffer enough for interfering with us.”

  
  


* * *

Jaune arc sat on a bench, the breeze swayed the trees above his head and casting dappled shadows. His eyes watched the ripples of the pond but his focus was somewhere else. Blond hair tousled he had yet to go back to Beacon and had been wandering Vale through the night. Bloodshot orbs blearily blinked in the sunrise as he took another drink from the bottle in his hand. Noticing it was empty he flung the bottle into the receptacle some distance away. 

In his mind replayed the events of the past, his last memories of the woman he loved with her vibrant silver eyes and will of steel. It was a ghost that had haunted him daily for years but an ache that had faded over the years but never quite left him whole. Jaune was aware of the hole he felt, the huge gaping wound that had scabbed over. 

Now he had new thoughts. He had a daughter and that sent his head spinning like no other. Just imagining that Ruby had been alive when they’d thought her dead was enough to tear those old wounds afresh. Just looking at Vermilion tore at him, and not just because of Ruby, but because he hadn’t been there for her. His own father had been there, even supported him after he had run away to Beacon. 

His thoughts were interrupted when a body settled in beside him. Jaune barely spared a look to see who it was. The woman wore plain clothes and had her blonde hair in twin braids down her front. 

“Good morning Jaune.” She only got a grunt in return, “Yang called me. Said you stormed off last night.”

Jaune grunted.

“She also said I have a niece.”

Jaune grunted again in the affirmative.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Jaune remained silent once again, “You can’t hide anything from your twin.”

Jaune fixed her with one blue, baleful orb, “Why are you here Joan?”

“You look like shit Jaune.” The man scoffed at his twin, “I’m here because you just learned you have a daughter, I have a niece, and instead of spending time with her you’re out here drunk off your ass.”

“You don’t understand.” 

“You’re damn right I don’t understand. The Arc family is down to just you and me. Now it’s the three of us. I’d have thought you’d be thrilled.”

“Of course I’m happy. Not only because of that. It’s.. She’s my daughter, and Ruby’s, I can’t even begin to describe how I feel but….”

“But nothing. That girl needs you now more than ever. You don’t have to be a dad. Just be there for her. You don’t have to act a certain way. Just be yourself. Maybe less grumpy would be good.”

Jaune returned to grunting. His sister merely leaned a shoulder against his, “It’s not your fault Jaune. Not what happened to Ruby and most certainly not what happened to our family.”

“You’re wrong Joan. You know why.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“Someone should.” 

The blonde merely sighed at him and looked out over the pond, a duck swam by lazily. Neither sibling said anything for a good long while. Jaune’s breath became ragged and stifled. He appreciated her just sitting there with him, like always. It had been a long time since he had lost control like he had and his sister had always been there for him. That was something he was eternally grateful for. 

“You gonna head back to Beacon? Yang said my niece was waiting for you.”

A soft, ragged chuckle escaped him, “Of course she is.”

“You’re a dad though. You know if Mom was still alive she’d be over the moon at having a grandkid. Dad would be driving himself up a wall with worry. I’m just… glad.” She looked at Jaune, tears in her eyes, “I’m so glad our family isn’t going to end.”

His head shot up and he stared at his twin sister. The blond placed a hand on her shoulder and she leaned into him. There was nothing left to say. Although he had been through so much she was still his twin and on some fundamental level they still knew each other in a way no other could. She knew he was ultimately both glad and afraid of what might happen to her.

“I just hope she doesn’t pay for my crimes.”

  
  
  


* * *

Vermilion glanced down to check her scroll again as she walked around the corner of the street. It was bustling with more people than she was comfortable with, many more than had been in her village. The map function was extremely helpful though she’d had to have Willa show her how to use it. 

The brunette honestly didn’t know what she was going to do when she saw Jaune, and it just felt weird calling him Dad or Father. She didn’t know how she was going to face him, or what she should say to him. All those years she had dreamed of finder her father and yet, against all luck, she had found him. And it wasn’t like she’d thought, either. Her father wasn’t someone who had just abandoned her or died like she’d imagined. Vermilion had seen the anguish in his eyes when he got the news. He had been hurt knowing that she had grown up without a father.

In a sense, she pitied him. 

The message had come in just an hour ago over her scroll, from him. It was pretty vague, just giving her an address and telling her to meet him there and that he had something to give her. The others would have tagged along had it not been for Professor Xiao-Long holding them back. The blonde teacher had sent her off with a wink and a smile. 

Now, however, she was trudging through downtown Vale in an attempt to find Jaune’s apartment. The press of people was making her somehow claustrophobic. The sheer amount of people that resided in the city hadn’t quite clicked with her until she had to make her way through on foot. On Silverhawk it hadn’t seemed so bad, but being in the middle of it? That part had sucked.

Turn after turn the brunette navigated the streets of Vale and the crowd slowly became more scarce. Eventually a pair of footsteps evened out with hers and a rough looking man, who looked a few years older than her, settled in beside her. 

“Hey there, hot stuff. You look like you don’t know your way around town. I can show you some fun spots if you’d like.”

“No thanks. I’m actually meeting with someone.” 

The sped up and cut her off, a leering smile on his face as he pushed back his pale blue hair. The man’s attire just creamed the word punk, from his leather jacket down to his studded boots. Vermilion could tell the man was at least a few years older than her, instantly her mind categorized him as somewhat good looking though with how pushy he was being, that score was lowered.

Reluctantly she slowed to a stop as he smirked at her in what was obviously a move that was made to appeal to her. Her heart was hammering in her chest while her near death experience replayed in her head. Her hands became clammy and started shaking, the brunette taking an involuntary step backwards away from this man who was now way too close for her liking.

The man stepped in close, “C’mon, I’d love to show you around town.”

Vermilion took another step backwards and made to turn away when his hand snaked out and grabbed her wrist.

“I’m just trying to be friendly, no need to be a bitch.”

His expression was twisting into one full of hate and rage. Vermilion felt a new flash of fear course through her at this, her breath coming in short gasps. 

“I believe the woman does not appreciate your advances, my friend.” 

A new voice sounded from close by and a white gloved hand settled on the man’s forearm. The voice belonged to a rather tall man wearing a black suit with a matching fedora, his eyes almost closed but she could feel his gaze nonetheless while his smile transfixed the man accosting her. In his free hand was a cane topped with a large gem for a handle.

“The fuck you want, prick?”

“I want for you to leave this woman alone. It would be... _ wise _ … of you to leave.”

“Fuck y-” The man’s speech cut of into a strained grunt and a pop sounded from the arm under the new man’s grasp. Immediately Vermilion’s wrist was freed and she bounced back a few steps to stare at the two before her. The punk’s other hand had come up to grip the hand that had his arm under lock but it looked to be futile. His knee hit the ground as he tried to wrest control from the stranger.

“Okay! Okay!” The punk gasped as his arm was released and he scrambled off down the street, the stranger watching him go all the while. Only when he was out of site did the tall man turn to her.

“Are you alright Miss? I am very sorry to intrude but I can’t help myself when I see someone in need of saving.”

“It’s fine. Thank you for that Mister….?” She let the sentence drag on as she massaged her wrist.

Taking his hat off in a sweeping bow, “Cole Crowley, at your service.” 

“Vermilion Ash.” The brunette performed a small curtsy and she missed the small look of surprise that crossed his face. 

“A beautiful name for a beautiful young lady. Well my apologies but I’m afraid that I must be on my way. Perhaps our paths shall cross again?” With a smile and a chuckle the man departed along the sidewalk leaving Vermilion with her hammering heart that had yet to subside. A few deep breaths and she went back to finding her way to Jaune’s all the while thinking of the man named Cole and her pace more hurried than before, suddenly feeling very vulnerable on the streets. 

By the time she reached his building she had begun cursing herself. She was supposed to be learning to defend herself, she couldn’t fall to pieces from something like that. Maybe she didn’t have any real training yet but she at least had aura. That had to count for something, right?

It was frustrating. 

Her mother had been so strong, she’d watched her stand up to people in a drunken rage, even through some out of Toland’s bar. It didn’t matter that she’d gotten weaker over time. Had faded away. She remembered her mother at her best. A strong woman who could protect what was hers. 

There was also her father.   
  


Jaune may not have been what she had expected and if she was being honest with herself then she’d say she didn’t really know what to expect in the first place. He had a more than passing similarity to Toland. Both her rough people who couldn’t show affection directly but you knew, deep down, that they cared for you. It was harder with her father. The moment he had found out she had seen that flash of fear.

What was he afraid of? Attachment?

Vermilion shook her head, that way lay madness. Taking a deep breath she squared her shoulders and forced her expression into a neutral one. She could think about that weird encounter later, at that moment she needed to clear her head and face her father. 

A final deep breath and then she knocked on the door. A few moments passed by and the door was opened but rather than her father it was a different person with the same hair color. The older woman’s twin braids went down her front and her blue eyes squinted into a smile when she saw who was at the door.

“Hey there! You must be Vermilion!” 

“Uhm Hi?” The brunette took a step back and would have questioned whether it was the right place had the woman not known who she was.

The woman’s laugh was like chimes in the air as she stepped aside and waved at Vermilion to come in, “My name is Joan. Jaune is my twin brother. You can call me Auntie if you want.”

“Joan then. It’s nice to meet you.” The woman put up a fierce pout as she sat at a small dining table in the center of the apartment. The first thing that Vermilion noticed when entering was the smell. The place reeked of alcohol and there were bottles strewn about. Other than that the place was immaculate and orderly, as if he only stopped by the place to drink himself under the table. 

The man in question exited the kitchen, beer in hand, and sat down next to his sister. Now that they were next to one another the brunette could see the resemblance. Not only were their eyes and hair the same shade but their cheek bones held the same shape, giving their faces a close figure. That’s where it ended though because decades of hard living as a hunter had changed the man, from his demeanor to his actual physical shape, into someone that only had a few similarities with his twin. 

A glint of metal shone from underneath Joan’s brown leather jacket as she leaned back in her chair. Jaune took a long draught from his bottle as he regarded his biological daughter. His gaze made her want to squirm,, his silence made her heart beat faster. 

“You found the place alright?” There, an easy topic to break the awkwardness that permeated the room. Vermilion latched onto the topic with relief.

“Yeah I didn’t have too much trouble.” She decidedly didn’t mention her run in with the punk  _ or  _ Mr. Cole. There was no reason to worry him over something that had been resolved. 

“That’s good.” Once more awkwardness descended upon the three people in the dining room until Joan cleared her throat.

“Jaune? I believe you had something for your lovely daughter?”

“Ah, yes.” He cleared his throat and leaned forward. Vermilion could see how his red rimmed eyes had bags under them. Sympathy shot through here as the brunette put things together.  _ How hard must the news have hit him? How much does he blame himself?  _ Instinctively she wanted to comfort him, to tell him that they had all the time in the world now. 

“You still don’t have a weapon.” It was less a question and more a statement but nevertheless she shook her head, “And I don’t suppose you have an idea on what you want to use?” Again she shook her head, “How would you like something similar to mine? I’d suggest a scythe like your mothers but…. I don’t know how to use one. And I don’t know anyone who does.”

Vermilion paused to think, or more like she froze. She’d given some thought to what she would use. Talking to the girls of team Bisque hadn’t given her much of an idea. The options were so wide, she could use almost anything and the idea was daunting. She doubted she could come up with something original. There was more to it than that, however, as she thought about her father’s weapon. 

She’d watched as he’d made short work of the cultists who had made to sacrifice her, the memory brought a shiver down her spine. Her eyes drifted to his sword, Crocea Mors he had called it, it was a beautifully deadly weapon. It was simple and elegant in it’s construction. She was brought out of her thoughts when a long, about three feet, tube was set down in front of her. I was matte black in color and the only remarkable decoration on it was a red rose adorning the cap. 

“Your mother, Ruby, left this behind for me.” Jaune explained when she raised her eyebrow at him, “You see she was always a fan of weapons and a bit of a genius.” A wistful smile crossed his lips, “She made it a hobby to design new weapons for all of her friends. Whether it was just in case or what nobody really knew, she just loved doing it. This was one of the last things she gave me before she… disappeared.” 

He wrenched off the cap and pulled the contents of the tube out, spreading the papers over the table. Joan place her bear on one corner and Jaune place his on the opposite to get it to flatten out. What was on the paper itself was…. A bunch of lines and squiggles. Vermilion couldn’t make heads nor tails of anything there except for one part of it. A quarter of the first page, she could spy four more under the first, was a depiction of a sword and shield. The design was a bit different from Jaune’s weapon but similar enough she could tell it was meant for him.

“Is this?”

“Yup. This is the schematic of the weapon Ruby designed for me. I think it’s only appropriate that it be your weapon.”

Her mother had designed this for her father? Vermilion’s head swam as she remembered all those years she grew up, hearing tales of hunters protecting people and saving them from evil. Maybe she was just going to be learning to defend herself but here she was at  _ Beacon.  _ If her mother were here she’d be proud of her, following in her footsteps, right? If she was going to be a Huntress like her mother and be trained by her father then this weapon seemed like fate to belong to her. 

Silver eyes hardened as she traced the design with her fingers, “What’s it’s name?”

A small smile stole across Jaune’s features, “Rosa Mors. Ruby was never very good with names,”

Vermilion laughed at that, “I think it’s perfect.”


	6. Issue #6

Issue #6

  
  


* * *

Vermilion didn’t know what, exactly, to make of her newfound friend who was currently pacing a hole in the carpet while staring at her scroll. Her first impression of the girl, Willa, had been one of rigid discipline that only a high class upbringing could instill. However that had all changed yesterday when the girl had received a scroll message from her mother stating she was going to be arriving the next day. Now she was currently freaking in the middle of the team Bisque’s dorm as the hour of her mother’s arrival drew near.

“Oh for the love of..l. Willa will you sit the hell down? You’re stressing me out!” An exasperated Noel grumbled from her bed. 

The girl in question sat down on her bed with a huff and shot a glare at her childhood friend, “It’s not  _ your  _ mother coming to visit.”

“You’re right about that. Wonder what you did wrong?” 

The girl visibly paled, “I’ve done nothing.” However there was no denying that the thought was foremost in her mind. Instead of getting back up and pacing the young girl started fidgeting with her scroll. It was a morbid fascination that kept Vermilion watching all the way up to when Willa’s scroll chimed, causing the girl to nearly leap out of her own skin. The brunette had to admit, the Schnee seemed pretty high strung. All the while Noel snickered from her bed, taking joy in her partner’s suffering. 

“She’s here!” Willa practically shouted, “Let’s go! Up, up up!” The white haired girl raised her hands in a huff. 

“Look out, Willa, your Schnee is showing.” Noel teased as she got up and moved out the door.

“I will freeze you to the ceiling!” The girl called out after Noel with a red face. Before she could whirl on the rest of them Vermilion was rushing out the door as well, strapping her temporary sword to her hip as she did so. The weight felt uncomfortable as yet but Jaune had told her to wear it as much as she could in order to get used to the weight. It was just a simple sword from the store rooms of Beacon and she had yet to learn much swordsmanship, just a long lesson with her father the previous day. 

She was still excited, however, at the prospect of getting her own weapon. Most students who attended a preparatory combat school like Signal built their own weapons in classes there but since she had no prior knowledge Jaune had decided to go to a professional. The shop had said three weeks until her weapon was built as the materials were rare and had to be ordered specially. Vermilion had nearly choked when she saw the price tag but her father, and that was still taking some getting used to, had paid it without batting an eyelid, his reasoning being that you got what you paid for when it came to craftsmanship. When it came to the difference between life and death, no expense is spared. 

Silvia followed soon after, her staff collapsed down into a shortened version she attached to her belt. She let the green haired girl lead the way, still not confident in navigating the labyrinthine corridors of the school by herself yet.

Professor Xiao-Long was waiting at the airship docks when the girls arrived. On one airpad was a gorgeous, white airship decorated with the Schnee logo on the side. The engines were winding down as the systems were shut off and the embarcation ramp was lowered to the ground. One figure stepped off onto the ramp alone after having a short word with someone they assumed was the pilot of the craft. 

The woman was beautiful, Vermilion found, she had snow white hair like her daughter and pale blue eyes. She wasn’t as tall as she expected however but still held a regal, imposing air about her. She wore a white suit with a red dress shirt. Her hair was done up in a bun and Vermilion caught sight of a scar running vertically down over her left eye. An elegant rapier was strapped to her hip.

Her eyes scanned over the five people present until they settles on the woman’s daughter, “Willa,” The girl in question stiffened, “Come here please.”

She took several wooden steps until she was within a few feet of her mother, “Hello Mother. It’s wonderful to see you.” She performed a curtsy to which the older woman actually rolled her eyes. This elicited a snigger from the professor standing off to the side. 

Grabbing her daughter by the shoulder the woman pulled her into an embrace, “It’s wonderful to see you too.” She pushed back to arms length, her hands still on Willa’s shoulders and checked her up and down as if expecting to find some mysterious injury. 

“Mother, please. My team is right here!” Willa whined with her cheeks taking on a dusting of pink from embarrassment. 

“Oh no, I’m showing affection for my daughter. Whatever shall I do?” The white haired woman rolled her eyes again yet straightened up and stepped away from Willa. She fixed a stern glare on the professor who was only just now getting herself under control, “Yang you had better have a good reason for pulling me away from work.”

The blonde merely smiled in the face of the withering stare and draped her mechanical arm around Vermilion’s shoulders, “Let me introduce you two. Vermilion this is Weiss, the W in team RWBY. Weiss this is Vermilion, Ruby and Jaune’s daughter.”

Weiss’ breath hitched, her eyes going wide as she focused in on the brunette, no doubt comparing her with her mother. She shuffled uncomfortably underneath the blue eyed gaze but couldn’t move due to her aunt having a firm hold of her.

“But, that’s impossible. There’s no way… “ She continued to stare after trailing off, her skin becoming even paler, a feat that Vermilion had thought impossible. Weiss just continued to stare and silver eyes narrowed in on shaking hands. A quick glance showed a worried Willa beside her. 

“Oh it’s very possible, Ice-Queen. Boy do I have a story for you.”

  
  


* * *

Jaune arrived back in Beacon to an unexpected visitor when he dropped by the cafeteria to grab some food to take back to his room. Weiss Schnee sat having tea with his daughter and Yang. The president of the SDC kept glancing at Vermilion as though to check that she really existed and it was during one of these glances that she noticed Jaune’s approach out of the corner of her eye. 

The huntsman noticed her eyes widen just a little but and her posture straightened. They had not parted on the best of terms and had not seen each other in quite a long time. Jaune had let his anger over that go years ago, however, realizing that he’d been in the wrong. He’d never apologized but he didn’t blame her either. 

Weiss didn’t seem to have forgotten, or forgiven, him. He caught the narrowing though she did look away immediately deciding to go with ignoring his existence. That didn’t last long when Yang started waving him over. With a put upon sigh he made his way over and sat down next to Vermilion, his tray clacking down as he did so. 

“It’s… good to see you again Jaune.” The words sounded like they had physically hurt the white haired woman. He looked up at her and considered her for a moment. It was clear, so painfully clear, that she was still angry about last time but was pushing past her pride to extend an olive branch. 

“You too Weiss.” After a moment he thought to add, “How’s your sister?”

Finding comfort in the easy topic Weiss let a small, proud smile over her features, “She’s doing well ever since Ironwood retired.”

“Oh yeah. Winter’s headmaster now. Can’t say I’d seen that coming.” Yang struck her fist into her palm as if only just remembering.

“You’re one to talk Xiao-Long.” Weiss gave the woman a playful glare that she simply laughed off. Ignoring her teammate she turned to him, “I must say Jaune, it’s rather miraculous to find your daughter after so many years.” Her eyes flicked over to Vermilion who was busy pretending she wasn’t hanging off of very word. 

“It is. I’m… lucky to have found her.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw her back straighten but he couldn’t tell how she felt. He still wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. Jaune had never been there throughout her life and now he’d suddenly come barging in. Did she hate or resent him? 

Either way it was Yang who changed to subject, “How was Patch?”

Jaune looked up, “Pleasant. I made sure to leave flowers.”

“Of course.” A trademark Yang grin flashed across the table.

“You were visiting Ruby’s grave?” The question came from Weiss.

Jaune nodded.

“He visits every year. But this one was because…” Yang’s sentence trailed off as her eyes wandered over to Vermilion and Weiss quickly got the hint as she realized why he’d felt the need to visit the grave when it wasn’t the anniversary of her death. 

“Anyways, Vermilion. Are you ready for more training?” Jaune changed the subject and he could still feel Weiss’ eyes on him, the last thing he needed was more of her pity, especially after the last time.

The young woman quickly stood up, nodding. She was eager to become stronger and Jaune couldn’t stop the small streak of pride he felt in her, not that he was responsible for anything she had done or become, that credit belonged to Ruby. Jaune could almost hear her declaring loudly how proud she was of her daughter, too.

“Come on Weiss-cream. Let’s watch.”

“I haven’t finished my drink yet.” The president whined as she was dragged out of the cafeteria by the blonde. 

Jaune and Vermilion marched to the field they had taken to training in. In a single breath Crocea Mors was drawn and he looked to see that the brunette had done the same with her temporary, unnamed blade. 

“Alright first we’ll go through forms and then move on to some light sparring.” He didn’t really need to say it, because it was the same routine they had adopted since she’d chosen her weapon, but he added the repetition for their new audience. 

He left his sheath at hi side and gripped Crocea Mors in his right hand, left held in front of him. Vermilion copied his stance save for the shield held in her left hand. Jaune had already explained that she needed to get used to both aspects of her weapon. 

She followed through with him as he flowed from strike to strike. Thrust, step, cut, step, parry, step, slash. Like that they moved across the field, some hundred yards, and made their way back again and at the end of it Vermilion was out of breath, a light sheen of sweat on her brow. Her stamina had grown much but it had been too little time to make a huge difference. Letting her have a few moments he looked over to see Yang talking to Weiss, the latter having retrieved a mug of coffee from somewhere. The two sat on a bench nearby with Yang talking animatedly and Weiss simply nodding along politely. Jaune felt like he could almost see thirty years into the past, when they had last attended Beacon.

He blamed the school for that. It was easy to forget here, little had changed since the rebuild. Were it not for the absence of certain people Jaune would probably lose himself in nostalgia. He’d even caught himself looking for a bobbing red hood among the students. The realization crushed him every time. 

The blond shook his head to dispel the dreary thoughts and turned his attention back to his daughter once more. They face each other and he tightened his grip around the azure hilt of Crocea Mors. She would learn how to use her weapon even if he had to beat it into her. There was no teacher like experience. Taking a moment to salute with his sword she replied in kind and they stood stock still for a moment.

Jaune could almost see the thoughts inside her head. She was thinking, trying to work out an angle of attack and a way through his guard. There wasn’t one but she didn’t know that. Nevertheless he made some intentional gaps in his defense. There was no reason to develop bad habits in her by being unnecessarily harsh. 

But he wasn’t going to be nice either. Nice wouldn’t let her survive and he kept that in mind as Crocea Mors batted aside her sword, his pommel following up to strike her cheek. Stumbling back she brought up her shield and Jaune felt a small amount of pleasure at the fact she was learning quickly. He brought his sword down onto her shield in a powerful strike that forced her knees into the ground. Jaune’s left hand snaked out, grabbing her shield, and pried it away from her. 

Vermilion’s eyes widened as his knee drove into her stomach, sending her flying across the grass until she rolled to a stop. It took her a moment to regain her breath as she struggled to stand. Aura masy have protected her from serious damage but one still felt the impacts. It was important to get used to such things.

“Get up! Do you think your enemies will wait for you to catch your breath?”

He stalked forward and noticed her eyes as she stood back up. They still burned with determination. Good. Those silver eyes reminded him of Ruby and the more he trained her the more the similarities became apparent. 

* * *

Weiss watched the training with a critical eye, occasionally wincing when Jaune landed a particularly brutal blow. She couldn’t say she particularly agreed with the method but it  _ was  _ effective. Pain was a good teacher but just because she  _ could  _ take it didn’t mean she should have to. 

However Jaune did have a vested interest in keeping Vermilion safe, which was about all she could take comfort in. She could already see that changes since the last time they had seen one another. The memory sparked a familiar anger in her that burned into a sense of guilt as well. Weiss knew she had over reacted but Jaune seemed to still just blame himself, which was p0art of why she was so angry at him. That attitude of taking everything on his own shoulders like that when he had people he could rely on just rubbed her the wrong way.

She took a deep breath and calmed herself and turned to her old friend, “Are you sure this is the best way to train her?”

Yang sighed, “Maybe, maybe not. This is Jaune’s way and he was the only option of trustable people to train her up. I would but I don’t have the time to give her the attention she deserves, not with my duties as a teacher.” 

Weiss hummed, “But does he have to be so….”

“I know how you feel Weiss but the Salemites found her once. At this point we have no idea if or when they will try again.”

Salemites. The word made her blood boil. The repulsive cult that worshipped Salem as a goddess that would bring equality to the masses. More like death and destruction. She and Blake had done their best to eradicate the cult but to no avail, it had sunk it’s claws in so deep not even the combined might of the SDC and New Faunus Collaborative could touch it, though they had hindered it greatly.

The cult was something of a state secret, though not a very well kept one. The average person didn’t know of it and it wasn’t like anyone was keeping the secret anyways, the Salemites were just good at covering their tracks. A settlement burns to the ground and people assume Grimm, it was the way things were on the frontier. 

As Weiss watched the two continue the training she was at least pleased to see the young girl actually learning. Whenever Jaune poked a hole in her defense, she covered it. Sometimes it took a few good hits but she was remembering, maybe there was some merit to his training style after all, even if it  _ was  _ crude. From the sounds of it they didn’t have the time to be nice and methodical about the girl’s training.

“Blake’s gonna be here in a few days, too. You gonna be able to stay for a reunion?” Yang snapped her old teammate’s attention back to her. 

“Well, Whitley has been pushing me to take a break, and give him more responsibility. I suppose I could make time for it.”

The blonde pumper her robotic fist into the air, “Hell yeah, Team RWBY is back in action!”

Weiss rolled her eyes, she didn’t know if it was being around the adult child or being in Beacon again but something was bringing her back to her past. Besides, maybe it was time to see how much Willa had improved.

Personally.


	7. Issue #7

Issue #7

* * *

  
  


The docks were bustling with incoming ships as freight was loaded and unloaded. The port of Vale was a massive affair split into three main sections. On the south side was the shipping docks where freighters landed with goods. The north side was home to the commercial port, that was where the massive ships that transported people came and went, large ships that could hold hundreds and were heavily armored against the seafaring Grimm. A smaller section was made on the eastern inlet, a private section of the docks made for VIPs and dignitaries. It was this section that everyone found themselves in. Team BSK, Jaune, Yang, Weiss, and Vermilion waited at the base of a large ship bearing the Menagerie symbol. 

Various faunus and a small amount of humans made their way off of the ship including a number of guards wearing the official uniform of the Menagerie Militia. The four that remained after the disembarkation stood to the left and right of the gangplank, ramrod straight. It didn’t take a genius to know who was coming next. 

True to their expectations came down a raven haired beauty with black furred cat ears atop her head. She wore a black kimono, a favorite of hers, with her weapon slung behind her. The kimono itself had white and gold accents and though to most she would have looked unready to fight should something occur, those who knew her well would know that under the outfit was a skin tight suit she could move to if she needed. 

There was a black blur as her form flickered and she was among them in an instant, only the adults of the group having seen her move. In an instant she had captured her daughter and smothered her in an affection hug, one quick enough that few would catch it. She left in her wake a red faced Noel as she moved on to Yang and then Weiss and her daughter before finally stopping before Jaune. 

“It’s been a long time Jaune.” She said, a small smile gracing her lips, “How have you been?”

“I’ve been alright, Blake.” he replied with a shrug.

“Still a man of few words I see.”

“Like you’re one to talk.” Yang snorted which elicited a chuckle from the raven haired woman. The silence stretched on as Blake’s attention shifted to Vermilion. Yang threw her arm around the young woman and beamed at her partner.

“Hey kitten lemme introduce you to Jaune’s kid.” The faunus’ eyes grew wide as she quickly looked from father to daughter and back again, earning a nod of confirmation from the blond. 

“But who?!” 

“Ruby.” Yang replied with a grin of shit eating proportions.

“No way.”

“Yes way.”

Blake focused her eyes on the young woman, golden eyes meeting silvers as she put on a smile and bowed her head, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Blake Belladonna, as Yang has probably no doubt told you already.”

Sensing it was her turn, the brunette scratched her cheek awkwardly, “I’m, uh, Vermilion. Ash. Vermilion Ash.”

Blake quirked an eyebrow at her long time partner who mouth ‘long story’ at her. 

“Well why don’t we discuss everything over drinks!” Yang practically shouted, “And sushi.” She added on, instantly getting the full attention of the cat faunus in the group. Noel at least had the decency to look embarrassed about her reaction. 

Jaune was looking around, he found that he could not settle down. Something was bugging him and it had his senses screaming at him. Finally he noticed what was bothering him, all of the dock workers were absent, the only people on the pier was their group. It was an exclusive area but it should still have been very busy. 

A movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and his eyes whipped up to observe it. A person seemed to be on a nearby rooftop, crouching down and manipulating an object. His blood ran cold as the person shouldered the object.

“Down!” He yelled as he gripped the hood of his daughter’s outfit and hauled her bodily to the ground right as a round impacted where she had been but a moment ago. Figures popped up all over the pier, in nearby buildings and from behind cargo, opening fire on the group.

Blake, to her credit, was the quickest to react lunging forward with both parts of Gambol Shroud and deflecting bullets that came close to them. This bought enough time for Weiss to rip Myternaster free and stab the point of her rapier into the ground. Within the span of a second a massive ring of ice formed around their group, several times their height, and blocking the shots coming at them. It was a temporary reprieve at best but they were safe for now.

“What the hell is going on?!” Blake nearly shouted over the sound of bullets and dust rounds impacting the ice barrier.

“My guess is Salemites.” Jaune pulled out his scroll and started entering in something before looking at the three girls of team BSK, “You all should summon your weapons.”

He need not have said anything because they all had their scrolls out, entering in the code to send the rocket lockers to their location. After the codes were sent it would take a minute for them to arrive.

“Jaune, why are the Salemites here?”

It was Yang who stepped in to answer this question, “They want his daughter. It’s the whole silver eyes thing.”

Blake glanced over at the girl in question before swallowing any other questions she had, they could talk after the situation was dealt with. A low roaring could be heard over the din of the assault outside as four lockers impacted into the center of the ice ring. All the doors swung open automatically though everyone looked in confusion at the fourth locker. Contained inside was a simple sword and shield. Jaune stepped up and pulled the weapon out of the locker before turning around and holding it out to Vermilion. She looked hesitant, looking up at her father with a silent question.

“I put this together in case of emergency. And, well…” He gestured around them as if it was reason enough. It was.

“Only you would be so paranoid as to do something like that.” Weiss massaged her forehead with her palm.

“Is it paranoia if I’m right?” Jaune shot back. The white haired woman merely rolled her eyes at him.

Noel went over to stand next to her new friend, her weapon extending into spear form, “Vermilion, what did he mean? Who’s after you?”

“I’ll tell you guys later. Just… some really bad people wanna kill me for being born.” She whispered back causing Silvia to put one hand to her mouth, stifling a gasp. Both Noel and Willa’s eyes hardened at the news. They looked angry.

“I can imagine how you feel, Vermilion.” Willa looked the most angry and her partner put an arm around her shoulders.

“Willa has been through some similar stuff.” Noel managed a tight lipped smile and Vermilion couldn’t help but wonder what they meant, she made a note to ask about it later as she hefted the shield she’d been given and got a feel for the weight of the sword. It wasn’t nearly as good as Jaune’s weapon, that much was obvious, but it would have to do.

“Okay kids here’s the deal!” Yang clapped her hands together, “You students will be going with Jaune here. Take shelter in one of the nearby buildings. Let us handle this.”

“But we can fight, Professor!” Noel whined.

“Noel!” She was silenced with a glare from her mother, “Team RWBY will handle this. They dared attack while we were with our children? That is a mistake.”

“Indeed.” Weiss stepped forward, tip of her rapier once again to the ground as several white glyphs formed on the ground around her. From these glyphs rose three pure white and blue Ursa, “We will show them why Team RWBY is so renowned.”

“Hell yeah!” The professor slammed her fists together, “The team that kicks ass together, stays together!”

“Um, Professor?” Willa raised her hand, “Where’s your weapon?”

The blonde teacher merely smirked, “I am Yang Xiao-Long, I’m always  _ armed.”  _ The way she put extra emphasis on the last word had her two teammates groaning. The tension drained out of the group even through they could still hear the pot shots being taken outside. Once their ambushers had realized they wouldn’t break the ice so soon, they had started conservering their ammunition, only occasionally shooting to keep their heads down. 

Unfortunately for them, they had no idea who was about to be unleashed on them.

After a quick round of making sure everyone was ready, Weiss dispelled the barrier around them, shattering it into pieces as they scattered in different directions. The three living members of team RWBY charged forward, Yang rushing in towards the largest cluster of enemies. She dodged from side to side avoiding as much of the fire as she could and taking the rest on her prosthetic hand. The Ursa summoned by Weiss took many of the hits coming in her direction as she ran for another group of assailants. Blake had disappeared when the ice shattered and showed up moments later, dispatching the snipers on the rooftops with merciless precision.

By the time Yang had reached the group she was after, her hair was alite with flames and eye blood red. With a signature smirk she descended upon them. Her first attack sent a man flying into three others, carrying all of them several more feet before they impacted the side of a container. None of them got back up.

The professor was a blur of motion as she delivered brutal punches to each of the enemies, after taking a single punch, none stood back up. 

Weiss’ opponents didn’t fare any better, most being encased in ice or mauled by her summons. She danced about them, none able to lay a single attack on her as she parried and thrusted with Myternaster, felling her foes win quick succession. 

Jaune turned to his charges, “Follow me!” The bulk of the fire was coming their way though team RWBY had managed to reduce it by a lot already. It seemed as though dozens more of the assailants were showing up by the second and adding their fire to the chaos. Jaune pushed off the ground and the others followed close behind him. Silvia reached into her belt and pulled out a handful of dust. With an infusion of aura she threw it ahead of them.

“Ice Barrier!” The dust created a wall straight to the building they were running towards but as it formed holes were punched through it by the weapons of the Salemites. It wasn’t as think or high as Weiss’ had been but it did enough to obscure vision of the group as the rushed into the main foyer of the building. 

Bullets ripped apart the glass doors of the building as they took shelter behind what appeared to be the main reception desk. 

When they stopped firing into the building Jaune stood up and took stock of everything nearby. He motioned them to follow him again as he approached the door behind the desk, “We’ll go out the back entrance into the alley.” Using Crocea Mors he broke the lock on the door and battered it open and led them deeper into the office. 

It was while heading through the office hallway that the wall shattered, a dark form crashing into Jaune and sending them careening into the other wall, denting it severely. The person was massive, towering over the huntsman it had pinned to the wall, and was covered in a dark, smoke-like substance. The first thought, as he stared into the glowing red eyes, was that this was a Grimm but upon closer inspection he could make out a human face in the darkness that shrouded it’s form. 

Some kind of semblance then.

His foot snapped out and kicked out the knee of the man pinning him. The form collapsed and the pressure was let off and Jaune pushed it back through the opening it had come through. As it got back up he took stock of it’s weapons which appeared to be heavy gauntlets encasing it’s arms fully. Dodging it’s hefty punch to the side Jaune retaliated with a quick slash to it’s elbow. Crocea Mors bit shallow but no blood oozed forth. The form took advantage of his confusion to backhand him with speed that belied its great size. 

Fire lit up the hall as Silvia through a fire dust attack at it’s back. The hulk whirled around to block the follow up strike from Noel who had her Rubra Aurora activated, it’s keening engine supplying the blaze the encased the tip of the spear as it jabbed at the thing’s defense. Despite having the longer reach she could not break through the form’s defense. Just as Jaune was about to run the thing through with his blade from behind a second shadow emerged from the hole in the hallway, large revolver catching the blade on it’s barrel and turning him aside.

Quickly backpedalling Jaune bend over backwards as the gun snapped up towards his face, discharging several rounds. The second shadow person seemed to be quite a bit smaller in stature, standing only up to Jaune’s collarbone. This figure held a pistol in it’s right hand and what looked like a machete in the other. He could just make our what appeared to be a bandolier of grenades on it’s chest. 

The machete flicked up, aiming for his face once again, and was barely deflected by the Crocea Mors. The shield part of Jaune’s weapon came up to block several shots from the pistol in the figure’s hand. Pushing the shield forward, Jaune drove the edge at it’s throat but the hilt of it’s blade came up, diverting it just enough that his shield whistled over the head of the shadow. The revolver discharge into his chest and he was driven back, thankful for his breastplate under his coat and his massive aura. A point blank shot like that could have killed him if he hadn’t had the armor. Readying his shield once more he dove forward, his blade trailing just behind the shield as he battered aside the shadow’s gun and the tip of his blade found it’s sternum, impaling the creature on Crocea Mors. 

Jaue’s heart nearly stopped when the shadow reached over and ripped the pin out of one of the grenades in it’s bandolier. Pulling his blade out of the creature he brought his shield up and crouched behind it. 

“Cover!” Was all he had time to shout out.

There was a flash of light and a terrible force pounded into him.

  
  
  


* * *

Vermilion hung behind her new friends, staring at the dark, massive figure before them as Noel battled it. It seemed capable of speedily fending off her strikes even when Willa join in with her glaive, the two of them striking in tandem but to no avail as the giant’s armored hand deflected and caught the both of them. It grabbed both of their weapons and wrenched them aside in time to get a flaming rock to the face.

“Brimstone!” Silvia shouted as she combined earth and flame dust to launch another attack at the shadow man. When it let go of the two girls’ weapons in order to clear it’s vision they leapt back to create some distance.

“It’s on the level of a huntsman.” Noel stated, her eyes never leaving their enemy.

“Think we can take it?” Willa asked her partner who shook her head.

“Maybe in more open space but in here we don’t have the room. Plus….” Her amber eyes drifted back to Vermilion who had been sitting back uselessly, “We’ll have to hold it off until Mister Arc can come help.”

“Cover!” They heard the shout from behind the giant shadow and could barely react as Silvia jumped forward, flinging dust into the ground in front of them. The wall of ice was only half formed when it was shattered. The explosion that had originated from behind the hulking shadow man flung them all backwards and had Vermilions ears ringing.

A thick cloying smell of smoke and debris hung in the air causing her to hack and cough as it stuck in the back of her throat. She tentatively opened her eyes and they widened when she got a full view of what had happened. The spot where Jaune had been behind the giant shadow was collapsed, that part of the hallway having caved in completely. Just as she was about to run up to try and find her father a firm hand grabbed her hand and halted her. She whirled around to see Noel holding her side with her other hand. 

“It’s dangerous Mili.”

She opened her mouth to say that she needed to still find Jaune when her scroll started going off. One look at the face on the screen had relief flood through her. It was her father.

“Vermilion? Are you okay? How are the others?”

His voice was tinny through the tiny speakers and the concern was etched into his face. She almost broke out in a smile at his naked concern, “I’m fine. Everyone else….” She looked the others up and down, “Minor injuries at the most.”

“That’s good.”

Vermilion looked closely at the screen, her eye narrowing at the sight of blood on his face, “Are you injured!?”

“I’ll be fine.” He deflected and continued on before she could say any more, “You girls need to find another way out. Try and get to the back alley, I’ll meet you there.”

“Okay. I’ll see you there.” Just as she was about to hang up there was a flash as he dropped his scroll. On it she could make out another shadowy form that passed by before the line went dead.

She stared at it in mute shock for a moment before a hand on hers brought her back to her senses. Silvia smiled gently at her. 

“We need to get moving. We have to meet back up with him, after all.”

Nodding along she looked to Noel who was the leader of the team. The cat faunus looked deep in thought one hand on her chin, “Okay there’s got to be another way out. Let’s look for an evac route or something.” 

It didn’t take them long to find the route posted on a wall. The route outlined in red went through several hallways and passed through a large meeting room. It looked like all the paths went through that room or back out the main entrance of the building. 

“There we go. It looks like Jaune’s route goes that way too so we should meet back up with him soon.” As one they all started down the other hallway, being careful to keep their guard up in case any more of those shadow people lay in wait.

“What were those guys, anyways?” Noel spoke up. Even though gunfire could still be heard outside it had died down considerably. Presumably team RWBY was still dealing with the stragglers. 

“No idea. One person and it would mean some kind of semblance but two? I’m not sure but I doubt they were even human.” Willa supposed, a strange look on her face.

“There something bothering you Willa?” Noel shot her partner a concerned expression.

“No, well maybe. It’s just. Something about those things rubs me the wrong way, I guess. They just seem familiar.”

“You’ve seen them before?”

Willa shook her head, her white hair jostling with the motion.

“Regardless we need to meet up with Jaune. Enclosed spaces like this make me uncomfortable.” Silvia looked back and forth down the hallway. Vermilion didn’t join in because she was still thinking about her father. 

Sure she didn’t know him well but she could still worry right? If something happened to him she’d be all alone again. So what if she had Yang for an aunt, she’d never known her father and didn’t want them to part without being able to spend time with one another. They reached the junction that led down to where Jaune would have come from, looking down the other directions carefully. 

Aside from the noise outside there was no indication of where Jaune was and with no other choice they swung open the door and entered the next room. In the center fo the room was a large table with a number of chairs placed at it. What stopped them there was the lone occupant of the room and unlike the others they had had encountered this one was clearly not covered in darkness nor were his eyes a flaming red. 

He was dressed like a gentleman with black hair adorned with a fedora of similar color. This man stood up when they entere, a smile on his face as he swept the hat from his head and bowed deeply, “Miss Ash, it is so good to see you again.” 

“Mr. Crowley!” She gasped as she recognised the man who had been sitting at the head of the table. His cane leapt to his hand as he started walking around the table towards them. Everyone else’s weapons came up even as Noel looked over at her.

“You know him, Mili?”

“We met once before.”

“Indeed!” The man interrupted with exuberance, “Once is coincidence but twice is fate, no?”

“Why are you here? Are you okay, did they hurt you?”

The man turn his head in confusion before an epiphany seemed to strike him and he chuckled, “Harm me? No, no, no. See, those people out there answer to me.”

It took a second for his words to sink in and her face to pale which only increased his smile, his eyes opened fully and she noticed his irises her of a jade color. 

“Exactly my dear. I’m afraid I had no idea who you were the last time we met. However now I have my orders.” His eyes hardened and smile faded as he stood a good five feet from their group, “My apologies, Miss Ash. My goddess demands your sacrifice.”

Around her Willa and Noel tense before rushing forward, Willa’s glaive sweeping for his neck and Noel’s spear aiming for his chest. His cane came up to divert the spear into the glaive, deflecting them both in one smooth motion. He pressed the time of the gem in his cane to Noels body and she was blasted back by an enormous gust of wind, her body colliding with Willa’s sending both girls careening into the table, splintering it. 

Silvia was the next to step forward, “Fireball!” She shouted as she swung the fire in her hands at the man. Another gust of wind snuffed the fire out and his hand lanced out and connected to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Crowley let the young woman fall to her knee as he stepped in front of Vermilion. 

She knew she stood no chance. He had dealt with these experienced students like they were nothing and now she, a girl having been taught for only a short while, was faced with this man who had no doubt decades of experience in killing. Trying desperately to remember what Jaune had taught her she lunged with her sword and he deflected it with contemptuous ease. The cane came down and hammered on her sword hand several times in quick succession causing her to drop the blade. 

“Don’t touch her!” She heard Noel scream and a blast screamed by his cheek, leaving behind a scorch mark on his cheek. One hand came up and felt the injury.

“Children should not interfere in this matter. If you wish so badly for a fight then  _ he _ will entertain you.” Behind him some kind of glyph appeared on the ground and she could hear a gasp from Will. From in front of him she could barely make our a spinning black mark on the gound before a shadow came out of it. The giant shadow man from before.

The giant stalked forward and swung it’s mighty fist down at one of the girls, “Now where were we? Ah yes. I  _ am  _ terribly sorry about this but if you could not resist I would thank you.”

She spit in his face, “Fuck you.” 

“Quite. I suppose it was too much to ask.” He wiped his face clean. She brought her shield up as he brought his cane down on her. The impact was far greater than anything Jaune had hit her with. Vermilion’s hands went numb with just the one blow, the second tore the shield from her arm, wrenching it painfully. Diving down she grabbed the blade and held it up with both hands. One thing Jaune had taught her was that she had to be adaptable. If she lost her weapon she had to not let that phase her. 

With a yell she swept her sword low which met his cane and it might as well have been stopped by a brick wall. Quickly she pulled it back and swung from different angle, trying in vain to get passed his defense. He looked almost disappointed in her efforts. Lift a foot when she swept low he stomped the foot down, trapping the blade against the floor. Aiming the tip of his cane against the flat of the blade a spike shot forward, shattering the steel blade easily and rendering her all but defenseless. The now extended spike rose up to her throat and she was pushed against the door they had entered through.

Behind him she could hear Noel screaming her name, though she couldn’t see how they were doing against the shadow man. Poory, she suspected, as they didn’t have a good chance before. The tip of the can battled against her aura which attempted to prevent it from piercing her but she new that it wouldn’t protect her for long. She saw her chance, though, when she looked down. Her foot rose in a swift fashion and impacted between his legs. Crowley’s eyes widened by quite a bit and he staggered back, rage flashing across his face. 

She dove to the side and away from him, scrambling back as he advanced on her, “I was going to grant you a quick death but that is no longer the plan!” He shouted his jade eyes growing wild. 

A tremendous crash resounded as the door the the room splintered from the force of what slammed into it. A white and gold shield could be seen rushing for the black haired man who cursed and swung his cane down, using the wind to dodge across the room. A sword of glittering white steel shot out from behind the shield and pierced through the large shadow man who disappeared into smoke when it’s head was split. 

The figure behind the shield stood tall revealing a battered but alive Jaune Arc. Judging by the hateful glare Mr. Crowley was giving her father, Vermilion wagered he hadn’t wanted him to show up. 

“It appears my time is up.” Crowley said, “I’ll be seeing you again.” He held on hand up and a black glyph appeared, a black snowflake spinning in the air with a dark red outline of light. Jaune stepped in front of Vermilion to protect her as the glyph released a blinding light. When her vision cleared there was no sign of the man and Jaune lowered his shield slowly before turning to check on her. 

He crouched down and inspected her, “Are you okay?”

She was shaking and she hated it. She was afraid and had barely been able to move. She had been useless  _ again.  _ A feeling of disgust welled up inside and she clamped down on it, shoving it down, “I’m fine. How is everyone else?”

“We’re good.” Despite limping over and leaning on Willa for support, Noel supported an enormous smile. 

Vermilion finally turned to her father and took in his battered form, his coat was ruined with holes in gashes in it. His breastplate was visible and dented, scorched even and one sleeve was completely gone exposing the gauntlet he wore underneath it. Blood had been streaming down from his down and it was obviously broken. 

She reached up gingerly to touch his face, “Are you okay?” Her concern caught him by surprise and his confusion was evident on his face.

“This is nothing.” He stood up, swaying just a little bit, “There were a few of those shadow summons in my hallway.”

Silvia put a finger to her chin, “But we didn’t see any on our way here?”

His face twisted into a grimace and he cocked his head and it was just then that she noticed there was no longer any noise of combat outside. 

“Let’s get out of here.” Jaune turned and stumbled causing Vermilion to rush forward and slip in under his arm to support him. He gave her a strange look before nodding his thanks at her, “Let’s get back to Beacon.”


	8. Issue #8

Issue #8

  
  
  


* * *

Jaune stood in the meeting room, hands clasped behind his back with his eyes staring straight over the heads of the others in the room. He’d not had time to change his clothes or freshen up, blood still staining his face though aura had sealed the wounds he’d taken on the bullhead back to Beacon. Behind his back his hands wrung together as he anxiously waited for Blake to come back from interrogating the prisoner she had captured. 

Yang say in a chair with her arms crossed and feet upon the table, the only indicator of her agitation was her glaring red eyes that had yet to return to their original color. Weiss stood in a corner having an intense scroll call and he didn’t envy the person on the other side, judging from her scathing tone. The door opened to his left and four more people entered and Jaune’s already ruined mood went further south as he saw who had come, though he had expected them already.

“Is everyone okay?” Oscar Pine asked to the room.

“Define okay Oz.” Yang answered with a glower that wasn’t directed at him, “Being ambushed isn’t fun.”

“No, it isn’t. I’ve been in contact with the VPD and they aren’t happy with the bodies left at the dock.”

Yang scoffed, “I’m not happy with their response time. No one showed up until long after we were done. You know what that means.”

“Yes.” His hand met his chin, “The Salmites must have agents within the VPD.”

“Did you find anything from the survivor?” Jaune finally spoke up.

“Professor Laurel?” Oscar turned towards a woman with pale green hair set in a bob, her skin spotted with snake scales, “What did you and Blake find?”

“Under my semblance she gave us everything. Which, admittedly, wasn’t much.” Her voice was thick with an exotic accent that Jaune couldn’t place, “The woman was definitely a Salemite, and part of something called the Black Exodus. In her words she was merely an Outer Disciple, whatever that means.”

“A pawn then.” Oscar mused getting an agreeing nod from Blake. Jaune found himself regarding the other teacher, he’d heard about the faunus woman from Yang. Kaa Laurel had joined Beacon’s teaching staff three years ago and had distinguished herself since. She had taken on the roll of teaching Grimm Studies after Port had retired, the man had amazingly kept teaching for far longer than most teachers. Already, however, the class was doing much better than under Professor Port, Laurel providing a much more in depth look at the physical and behavioral aspects of the Grimm. 

Curiously enough she always wore her weapon, a habit not many had as a teacher at Beacon besides Glynda and Oscar. Yang didn’t need one. Kaa’s weapon was a rare one, curved twin blades just a bit longer than his forearm with hilts of equal length to the blade worn crossed at the small of her back. 

“Still, even a pawn can be of use. What else did you learn?”

It was Blake who spoke up, “Apparently their group is special arm of the Salemites that deals with threats to the organization. Something like a security force. The main contingent of Salemites are called the White Exodus and are lead by a figure known as the High Priestess, this person presides over the entirety of the cult. The Salemites consider her a messiah or the voice of Salem.”

Jaune felt his hands clench into fists,  _ Have you not taken enough from me? _ He found himself drowning in his memories. The scenes played out from the back of his mind. Of finding the door to his home broken down, his father dead in the doorway with bodies littered around him as he defended his homestead. Jaune’s breath quickened as he slipped beneath the surface of the memory. 

His mother was found further in, she had used her body to shield the rest of the family. In her arms were the facant, fearful gazes of his younger sisters, the ones who had yet to move out and away. He had been too late to save them, again. 

A hand on his shoulder startled him from the flow of the memory, bringing him slamming back to where he was. All talking had stopped and every eye in the room was trained on him. He followed the hand to it’s owner, a concerned Oscar looking at him. Bile rose in his throat and he shook off the hand, “Don’t touch me Ozpin. I just need some air.” 

With that he hurried out the door, resting his back against the wall was he was out of the room, taking deep, gulping breaths of air. He’d felt like he was suffocating in there and slowly brought his breathing under control. After a few minutes his breath had steadied out and he was no longer hyperventilating. How long had it been since he’d had a reaction like that?

Years.

Jaune had to start wondering why though he had an inkling. It was his daughter. He had something to protect again.

He had something to lose. 

_ No. _

He wasn’t going to lose Vermilion. He wasn’t going to lose anyone, not anymore. 

Unbidden his legs carried him down the familiar halls of Beacon. He’d not really spend all that much time there, but the time that he did was memorable. It almost felt like being a student once again. A wave of nostalgia washed over him, a distant memory of Pyrrha telling him he had a rather large surfaced. It was bittersweet of a time when things were going well. 

Nora and Ren would have loved to meet his daughter, and he would have loved to introduce them. He imagined Nora would use that to bug Ren into having a child, she wouldn’t have wanted to be left out. The small smile that hung on his face became strained as he thought on his dear friends. His eyes grew watery as he burst through his door, not bothering to turn the lights on. 

Jaune did blink at the lights of his miniature fridge, the shelves overloaded with alcohol. Grabbing a whole pack of beer from within he popped the cap and started gulping down the drink before slinking down on a nearby chair shrouded in the darkness of his room, soon to be lost in his memories.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Vermilion woke with a start, the vivid nightmare fading within seconds as she wildly looked around the dark room.Though the dark sky was getting lighter the other girls were sound asleep, at least she thought they were until she saw a glint of a shining iris in the dark. Noel got up and padded over to her bed, sitting down on the edge of it, her voice a low whisper.

“Hey V, you okay?” 

Vermilion hesitated. She wasn’t sure why, she knew the girl would help her without question, it was just the kind of person Noel was. However she also felt like such a burden, everyone else was protecting her, her new friends had even been in danger. If Jaune hadn’t come in time who knows what would have happened. 

“I’ll be okay. Sorry I woke you.” Vermilion pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. She was still shaking and even though she couldn’t really remember the dream yet the one thing that haunted her was Crowley’s face. 

“Was it about what happened?” 

Vermilion nodded, not quite meeting Noel’s eyes. The faunus’ arm snaked around her shoulders, drawing her in close. 

“It’s scary. I get it. We get it.” Noel paused and teased her lip with her teeth before taking a quick breath and forging on, “I don’t remember it well, I was five. It’s just kind of vague but when I was five I was almost killed. I didn’t really understand what was happening at the time but apparently a rogue group of anti-faunus militia kidnapped me. They wanted my mom to surrender herself to them so they could kill her.”

Vermilion looked her new friend, a strange feeling coming over her as she imagined a young version of her put in a situation like that.

“They shouted at me. Called me things I didn’t quite know.” She smiled weakly at her friend, “That’s what I remember the most. The yelling and the names. Mom appeared, surprising them, with Auntie Yang and Weiss.” Noel looked into Vermilions silver eyes, her amber ones glinting in the low light of the room, “I had nightmares for years, ya know? But then Mom told me something. She told me that fear was normal and that it wasn’t something you should let control you.”

They sat there in silence for a time, the shivering Vermilion had felt had subsided with the nightmare fading back into the mists of her subconscious. 

“So, what’d you do?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Noel smirked with a wink at her while adjusting her arm around Vermilion’s shoulders, “I became a huntress. It didn’t happen overnight though. Mom and Dad started training me when I was ten, I’ve had years of training. I faced Grimm when I was fourteen.” Her face flushed a little and she scratched her cheek, “I guess what I’m saying is that you aren’t alone. I don’t know about everyone else but at the very least Willa and I know how you feel.”

“Indeed.” The new voice came from Willa as she sat up, one hand brushing hair behind her ear, “The both of us can relate to your situation. When I decided to become a huntress, Mother gave me my weapon. It was Father’s, she told me he would always be watching over me. It’s one of the few things of him I have left.”

Vermilion glance over at the nightstand next to her bed, upon it was the Rose symbol necklace she had, her own memento of her mother. Noel hopped up, a massive grin on her face.

“Enough of the heavy stuff! I know just the thing to take your mind off of things!” The cat faunus started rummaging around in her wardrobe for a moment before whipping around and holding a blazer and skirt up, “Class!”

From the other side of the room Silvia let out a groan at the last word coming from their leader. 

They stumbled into their first class of the day, showered, dressed, and fed. Vermilion stared around the room, it was decorated with diagrams of Grimm anatomy and lifelike recreations of the creatures. In one corner stood a twelve foot tall Ursa stature, it looked like a taxidermy but Grimm dissolved on death so such was just a close recreation. A large wooden desk occupied the front of the room and sat behind it was a woman in a shimmering green qipao that was just a bit darker than her hair. 

Vermilion caught the professor’s eyes and couldn’t help but stare at their incredibly unusual color, or colors. While her own eyes were silver and she’d never met another with the same color as hers, the professor of this class had unique eyes the color of a vibrant green flecked with bright orange, not to mention the woman had slit pupils which gave her an exotic beauty.

When their eyes met the teacher smiled and nodded at her. Flushing at being caught staring she quickly took a seat between Silvia and Willa. They had told her the professor’s name, and which class which was first. Professor Laurel stood when the bell tolled and cleared her throat. Instantly the classroom quieted down as the teacher spoke.

“First of all I’d like to welcome Miss Ash to Beacon. I’m glad to see you attending class.” Everyone’s attention focused on Vermilion making her wish she could shrink down below their desk. They had all seen her come in with team BSK but it seemed like the rumors of her being at Beacon hadn’t quite made the rounds yet, though she supposed that would soon be rectified if the whispers were any indications, “Since we have a new student here I suppose we should do a bit of review.”

The woman turned back to the various diagrams drawn across the blackboard, “What is the biggest distinction between Grimm and other creatures?” 

“The Grimm do not have souls.” Willa answered after she was called on.

“Correct and can you tell me why aura is necessary to fight them?”

Willa seemed prepared for this as well, “Grimm, even the most common such as Beowolves, have extremely tough hide or chitin. Hunters use aura to empower their weapons to cut through their defenses, as well as defend against the Grimm in turn.”

The professor smiled, “A textbook answer.” She spread her arms to address the whole classroom, “One on one most Grimm are no match for a Huntsman or Huntress. The average Beowolf being easy enough for even students from Signal to defeat. Of course I don’t mean to say you should let your guards down, the opposite in fact. The creatures of Grimm hold many advantages over other creatures. Does someone care to list them?”

A random hand went up, “They don’t need sleep and they don’t fatigue, they don’t even need to eat.”

“Correct but there’s more. Anyone?” She waited a moment, ignoring Willa’s outstretched hand, “Intelligence.” Professor Laurel held up a finger, “Grimm have little more intelligence than, say, a dog. Or some other animal. They have instincts and exhibit some behavior characteristic other animals they tend to be based off of. Beowolves travel in packs and Ursa tend to understand how to use their prodigious strength to their advantage. As such most Grimm can be outsmarted but for one trait, their most dangerous one.”

The professor smiled in a way that showed just a few too many teeth, “Learning. Grimm have almost unlimited capacity to learn. As far as we know they have no natural lifespan, only ceasing to exist when they are killed. Thus they can keep learning and  _ increase  _ their intelligence. What does not kill it makes it stronger. Even now there are ancient Grimm out there with intelligence approaching if not surpassing our own. Does anyone know how to tell if a Grimm is intelligent?”

“It’s bigger?”

“Not always. Though most Grimm grow much larger with age it does not always denote intelligence. An ancient Nevermore may be bigger than a bullhead but that doesn’t mean it’s all that smart if it hasn’t had a chance to  _ learn. _ You should treat every Grimm like it could be smart. There have been tales of Beowolves that look no different from most but are smart enough that they were able to dupe a huntsman and kill them.”

The entire time the teacher was speaking she kept glancing over at Vermilion and she knew the lesson was mostly for her benefit. She found herself captivated by the woman’s lilting accent and colorful eyes. Repeatedly their eyes met and she felt like she couldn’t tear her gaze away from the professor’s.

The rest of the lesson passed in the blink of an eye and Vermilion could admit to not understanding a whole lot though Willa promised to help her with anything she didn’t get. Not for the first time she was grateful to the white haired girl. Noel jumped on the both of them, pulling their faces in close getting a reserved sigh from the Schnee. 

“We can all study together! It’ll be a sleepover!”

“We already sleep in the same room Noel.” Willa rebuked with a roll of her eyes.

“Onwards to history!” The faunus marched forward with one hand outstretched towards the distance like some kind of adventurer. Behind her Willa followed with a small smile while Silva looped her arm through Vermilion’s, pulling her along. 

The next classroom also had Vermilion staring, but only because the room was decorated in a way that spoke to the professor’s personality. 

Gears. Loads of clockwork decorations hung about the room, some were actual clocks though most just ticked around with no apparent purpose. Leaning on a cane, watching the students file in, was a familiar face, kind of. Professor Pine stood and his lips quirked upwards at the sight of her. 

“Miss Ash.” He intoned after approaching them, “It’s wonderful to see you attending classes finally. I’m sorry to hear about what happened yesterday but just know you shall be safe in Beacon.”

She merely nodded and took her place down in the back of the class with her friends, and as strange as it was to say it about people she’d just met, she had quickly found them to be friends. Feeling a bit better, as Noel had predicted, she settled in as Professor Pine launched into the event known as the Fall of Beacon. He was charismatic and told the story like he’d actually been there.

Noel nudged her and showed off a terrible sketch she had drawn of the professor, who promptly called out her name with a deadpan stare.

“Miss Belladonna, come see me after class.”

The dark haired girl winced but didn’t look very apologetic as Vermilion started giggling.

Maybe things were going to work out fine.


	9. Issue #9

Issue #9

* * *

  
  


The time was finally there and Vermilion could hardly contain herself, it was the day she got her very own personal weapon. Even despite Jaune’s brutal training she’d been counting out the days until her sword and shield combo weapon was complete. Her father had gone down into Vale to retrieve it, citing the danger to her as a reason not to bring her so she was stuck in Beacon until he had gotten back. For the last hour and a half the silver eyed girl had been bouncing around team BSK’s dorm room, well it was her dorm too, now. The headmistress had said that since she was spending so much time with the team, the guest room they had made for her was going to waste and just made that her official room. 

Living with three other girls was definitely a big change from her old life even if she did lament at not having much privacy anymore. Willa was constantly helping her study up to Beacon’s standards, and that in and of itself was a monumental task that sometimes she felt dizzy just from thinking about how much she would need to study. 

Four weeks. It had been just over a month since she had met her birth father, though she hadn’t known it at the time. Since then she’d been almost killed twice and put through a training regime from hell, an academic one too though she’d never admit that to Willa’s face. Vermilion didn’t feel any closer to Jaune in that time even though they spent so much time together, considering she spent the ends of their sessions together puking her guts out sometimes, maybe that was to be expected.

The results were coming in fast, however. With aura’s natural regenerative traits and how hard Jaune was pushing her she could feel how lithe she was becoming. Muscles becoming more pronounced and fat being burned away. Her mother had always had a fairly healthy lifestyle, with a soft spot for sweets, that had rubbed off on her. This, however, was something else. The training wasn’t what she expected either. The movies made you think that you could become strong with pushups and crunches and although that was a great way to exercise, it would put muscle in the wrongs spots as well.

Jaune had pounded that notion out of her quickly. Sparring was the best way to build up the correct muscles needed for utilizing whatever unique weapon a huntsman or huntress used. Swinging the sword and practicing with a shield until her muscles gave out from exhaustion made sure that the muscles she would be using the most got built up while others, that would only get in the way, weren’t. So it was that she’d not only gotten physically stronger, but faster as well.

Jaune had taken to letting Noel or Willa spar against her so that she didn’t pick up bad habits as well. Her father kept saying that experience was invaluable and she should seek out as much of it as she could get. With the involvement of her newfound friends came begrudging training with them as well and while he wasn’t happy about it at first, Jaune eventually relented and accepted team BSK into his training as well. Though they may have succeeded in getting him to train them, they may have regretted it once they realized they would be beginning each session with a run that lasted until they couldn’t anymore. 

“Will you stop that?!” Willa finally snapped at Vermilion, growing tired of the sound of her fingers rapidly tapping against the desk. With a great exertion of will, the brunette forced her hands to stay still as she read from the textbook the Schnee had given her. Already having waited a whole month, Vermilion was fit to burst from impatience. 

Which is why, when there was a knock on the door to the dorm, Vermilion tripped over herself when getting up from the desk. Picking herself up off the floor with a bright red face, she answered the door while trying to ignore Noels not so hidden titters. To her relief it was, in fact, Jaune who was there and if he noticed her red face he didn’t make a show of it. Slung over his arm was a long, brown, cloth wrapped object, she knew what it was but asked anyways.

“Is that it?” Silver eyes didn’t take themselves off the object or else she would have caught the quick smile Jaune flashed.

“Of course.” he said, sling it off and handing the object over laid flat on the tops of his palms, “Your very own weapon. Your mother is probably the only person who’d be more excited than you about this.”

Vermilion felt the heat return to her cheeks as she looked down, pushing the tips of her fingers together. Jaune laughed at that, actually laughed, and the young silver eyed girl could only stare in wonderment at him.

“Don’t mind me, Vermilion. You just reminded me of Ruby. Go on, take it.” He urged.

Biting her bottom lip, Vermilion slowly took the weapon from him and almost didn’t notice the half-cocked smile he wore when she did so with the utmost reverence. Her heart was beating a staccato in her chest while the weapon itself seemed so heavy. Crocea Mors hadn’t felt this heavy, though maybe she just wasn’t remembering it right. This wasn’t Jaune’s weapon, it was  _ hers.  _ Her very own weapon, designed by her mother for her father. If she was still alive, would they have built one together? The thought sent a bittersweet pang through her core. She really did wish her mother was there. 

Her father was.

Jaune was distant and most of the time felt like someone who had no idea what to do with a teenage girl, and he probably didn’t. However looking at him now, he looked like a proper father smiling proudly at his daughter and Vermilion felt her feeling twinge. Her mother should be here, they should never have been ripped apart. It just wasn’t fair. Seeing Jaune like this, having this glimpse into the person who he could be if he wasn’t so afflicted by his loss was heartbreaking. What would life be like if her mother hadn’t died? If they had all lived together as a family?

Her mother would have built her a weapon, perhaps they would have worked on it together. They could have trained together as a family. Some of her thoughts must have shown on her face because suddenly Jaune was looking worriedly at her.

“Is something wrong Vermilion?” His blue eyes didn’t shine with hurt for once, in them was just pure concern. 

“Nothing, D- Jaune. I was just thinking of Mom.” Jaune understood, of course he did, and his expression softened as he pulled the fabric apart for her. Underneath it was revealed a gleaming black sheath with gold and red painted on it. The grip was covered with a tightly woven scarlett cloth with a matching tassel hanging from the pommel. Unable to resist, Vermilion drew the blade and admired the craftsmanship in it, though she did notice a key difference between it and Crocea Mors in design. There was no traditional fuller along the blade but instead a seam ran all the way from hilt to tip. 

Deciding to ask about it later she expanded the sheath into it’s shield form and felt her breath leave her body at the design on the gleaming black surface. The red and gold that had been on it were the symbol that was on Jaune’s shield and inside the center of that was the rose symbol from her pendant. It took a great amount of effort to rip her eyes away from the design and look at the back of the shield and there was another thing there that her father’s weapon didn’t have. Arrayed above where one would hold the shield were empty sockets for something. Looking up at Jaune in confusion he smiled at her.

“Dust cartridges. Ruby designed it to be usable with dust.” Jaune pointed at a small button that was out of the way, but near enough to where she held the shield that it could be easily pressed, “Pressing that will infuse the selected dust into the blade and that,” pointing to a switch next to it, “will cycle through the cartridges.”

After pressing the switch experimentally, an indicator moved one slot over, indicating which cartridge would be selected. Jaune pulled something out of his pack, a set of dust vials. Vermilion recognized them all, dust theory had been something Willa had gone over with her extensively, and quickly sheathed the sword into the shield before taking the vials from her father to slot them into the weapon. 

“What’s it’s name?” Silvia spoke up from the side. 

“Rosa Mors.”

“We’re weapon sisters now!” Noel shouted with a triumphant smirk before grabbing Vermilion by the shoulders and pulling her into a one armed hug, “We both have weapons designed by Ruby Rose.” With a flourish the girl extended her own weapon, the collapsible spear telescoping to it’s full length. Feeling giddy, the brunette tapped her shield to her friend’s spear with a light clink.

“Want to go test it out?” Jaune asked, a faint smile playing over his lips as he did so.

Vermilion didn’t think she had ever nodded harder.

  
  
  


* * *

The next six months passed in the blink of an eye with Vermilion continuing her tutelage under her father and she was quickly getting the hang of things. Academics, on the other hand, were much more difficult for her even with the constant help from her friends. The girl was starting to feel stir crazy, cooped up in the admittedly massive academy. Jaune wouldn’t let her go down to Vale, even if she had the help of her team. And wasn’t that the word. If all went well on her first mission she’d be assigned to team BSK as their official fourth member, though what that would do to the team acronym she didn’t know. 

Currently she was sparring against the leader of the team, Noel Belladonna, who’s command over her weapon was almost unreal. The more she learned about combat from her father the more she realized how large the gap was between her and her friend. Circling each other Vermilion deftly spun her sword about, watching for an opening. It wasn’t easy as numbers weren’t on her side. Facing across from her paced two Noel’s, whom she called #1 and #2. The girl’s semblance certainly was unfair, the brunette considered as the two Noels split up to surround her. 

Knowing it would be the end of her if she did, Vermilion charged them both. #1 split to the left just as she reached her while the spear tip of #2 slammed into the surface of her shield. They had surrounded her anyways but she had taken the initiative, meaning Noel didn’t have complete control of the flow. Working to prevent that she tried to capitalize on the true weakness of her friend’s semblance.

In the last few months she’d become acquainted with the other three’s semblances as they sparred more as well as having a few heart to hearts. Willa’s was a rare hereditary semblance, passed down by blood related members of the Schnee family. The Schnee glyphs required years of training to master and extensive training to utilize the extremely versatile semblance. The strengths of her semblance was only restricted to her imagination though from how she told it she specialized more in melee and direct application of her glyphs than her mother did. 

Silvia’s was simple, she could neutralize her own mass to give herself no weight and with enough concentration it could be applied to other objects though that was difficult to pull off in combat. The combat applications for her semblance were somewhat more restrictive than the other two’s but Silvia found her way around it. The green haired girl tended to take to the skies using her staff which had a couple of gravity dust crystals embedded in it and by using her aura she could control it to move herself in any direction she chose. Often her tactic was to take to float above her opponent and use dust to bombard the enemy from afar. Vermilion had learned the hard way that this in no way meant the girl wasn’t trained in close quarters combat either, she had bruises for days thanks to her. The gravity crystals could be used in reverse, lending her strikes extra oomph. 

And finally there was Noel who had a rather simple, if not interesting, semblance. She called it perfect double and it created a perfect clone of herself capable of independent action. The drawback to this was that both Noels shared aura. Most wouldn’t consider this a huge drawback but there was one, other, weakness in it. She had slower reaction times. It wasn’t by much but in a fight between hunters it was significant. If an opponent could put enough pressure on her then they could overwhelm one of the Noels, and any blow landed would be dealt to their shared aura. 

There was a difference, however, between knowing what to do and doing it. Angling the shield of Rosa Mors to deflect the spear tip rushing for her face, Vermilion slid under and into #2’s guard. The shining blade came whistling up towards Noel’s chin but she dodged back easily, bringing the tip of her spear back with her, before spinning it. The butt of the shaft crashed into Vermilion’s temple causing a burst of pain and leaving her just aware enough to leap to the side in an awkward tumble, hearing the sound of a spear impaling the floor paneling where she’d been but a moment ago. After struggling to her feet she barely diverted a thrust from #1 only to be hit by #2 from her right. 

The fight went downhill from there with the two alternating thrusts to not give her any breathing room. Vermilion was losing ground fast and needed to pull something off to salvage the fight. Slamming the blade back into the sheath part of her shield she thumbed the activation switch of the cartridges. Pulling the shield low, she drew the blade back out in a horizontal slash but this time it was accompanied by an additional effect; fire dust. The flames exploded outwards and hit both Noels directly, causing her aura to tank a good portion on the readout. 

Following it up she charged with her shield and hammered it into one of the two Noels, bowling her over before she turned to the other who was still recovering from receiving fire dust to the face. Noel #2’s eyes widened as she avoided her thrust and blocked the next slash. Forcing Rosa Mors to the side, Noel buried the butt of her spear into Vermilions gut before rotating it into a slash with the tip of her spear. Despite throwing herself backwards Vermilion still took damage as the blade swept down onto her collarbone. Wincing at the pain she chambered another attack before feeling something impact the back of her knees, driving them painfully into the ground. 

In the blink of an eye she had one blade pressed against the back of her neck and another hovering in front of it. Without another thought she gave the spar up.

“Your semblance is bullshit, you know that?” Vermilion grumbled as Noel helped her up, the copy dispersing into a sort of mist as she did so. 

“Right.” Noel said sarcastically, “At least you got a good hit in, that blast really stung.”

“Stung?” The brunette asked incredulously with a raised eyebrow at the raven haired faunus, “That’s it?”

“Hey, that move took a quarter of my aura with it.”

This was the moment that the professor chimed in, “Which why, Noel, you need to be more careful with your positioning. If your opponent has an attack that can hit you and your clone you shouldn’t put them both together like that.”

Noel took the criticism well, merely chuckling in embarrassment and scratching the back of her head.

Professor Xiao-Long turned to her niece with a professionally neutral look, “Vermilion, you’ve been improving a lot. You’re probably good enough now to get into Beacon on your own now. Good job, but don’t let it get to your head. Keep pushing your limits.”

The girl in question nodded enthusiastically. She’d yet to beat Noel in a spar but that was the most damage she’d dealt to the team leader to date. Rumor had it that she’d never been reduced past half her aura in combat spars yet by anyone except Willa. The heiress only ever managed it by utilizing time dilation to make her fast enough to counter Noels Body Double. It really was unfair. 

Vermilion had yet to find her own semblance, much to her own frustration. Everyone told her, over and over again, that it was only a matter of time and that some semblances were only discovered in times of great stress. She’d spent a lot of time wondering what hers would be like, when she found it. Would she be able to heal people like her father? Maybe she would take after her mother, not that she knew what it was. Vermilion made up her mind to ask Jaune sometime, or maybe Professor Xiao-Long would be better. The blond teacher certainly loved telling old stories about her little sister. 

The locker rooms were bustling with activity as Vermilion entered them to get changed. Combat class was held at the end of the day because it allowed them to be able to clean up and rest. The spar between them had been held at the end with Noel being the one to choose her opponent. While some may have seen it as her picking on a weaker student, the silver eyed girl knew better. The faunus girl really did want to help her improve and these spars were her way of keeping track of progress. 

The first few times it had happened several students had laughed at her loss, though they were soon silenced with glares from Willa that could have frozen Vacuo in the middle of summer. Apparently the class still had the memory of the two’s victories in the ring as a reminder of just who was the top of the year. The professor, despite being close to them, by no means played favorites. It just wasn’t hard to be impartial about a one-sided beat down, especially when said beatdown was delivered by a hundred and thirty pounds of lithe huntress. 

The plain and simple fact was that both Willa and Noel were easily at the level of a second year or beyond which left the professor in an awkward spot as most second years were going on more missions that grew in frequency as real world experience took precedence over schoolwork. Professor Xiao-Long often said ‘A day out there is worth a week in here. Just because you’re done here doesn’t mean there isn’t more to learn.’ While not particularly profound it definitely served to try and keep the younger students’ perspectives in check. 

After getting out of a quick shower Vermilion leaned in close to inspect herself in the mirror as she dried her hair. Just like she’d thought, her roots were beginning to show their original color again. For the last few months she’d been getting by having Aunt Joan buy her some dye from Vale, since she couldn’t go into town. With a wary silver eye she examined the blond that was showing through her hair. The girl had always died it from a young age, to be more like her mother. She considered her blonde hair to be a reminder of the father she’d never had but with Jaune in her life now she couldn’t help but notice how it matched his.

“What’s botherin’ ya?” Noel exclaimed from behind her causing the girl to jump, but it wasn’t her presence that did so. It was the fact that she had slid her arms around Vermilion while doing so and poked her head over her shoulder. The faunus was overly friendly sometimes and didn’t seem to notice how much displays like that affected her, in fact she seemed to enjoy getting a rise out of people. 

To avoid thinking about the arms suddenly around her Vermilion quickly explained her thoughts to her friend, who wouldn’t let it go once she caught onto something, “I was thinking of letting my hair go back to its original color.”

Thankfully Noel leaned back and away, inspecting her friend’s hair with a careful amber eye, “Blonde right?” Vermilion nodded, “Why?”

It was a simple question but one that dug deep and Vermilion squirmed, Noel may have had her heart in the right place but she could be as subtle as a battering ram. 

Looking in the mirror she saw Noel’s curious expression, it was an innocent one. The girl had yet to demonstrate any kind of cruel streak, except to those that looked the wrong way at her friends. They’d all talked, of course, about Vermilions past. The other girls had shared some as well. Silvia always kept her past vague but the other two were very open about their childhood. Noel had a younger sister, Noir, and Willa was an only child with her mother being a widow. The two of them had definitely shared the pain of losing a parent. Vermilion had never had a true friend her own age like she did now. It was an odd thought because she’d never considered herself lonely before with all the people who cared about her in Northrend. But as for children her own age? There weren’t many and she never had gotten along with them all that much, especially after her mother died. 

“You know I grew up without a dad.” Noel nodded along to show she was listening when Vermilion finally got around to answering the question, “Well Mom wasn’t blond. I didn’t look like her. Or, well only sorta looked like her, but once she died I saw my hair as a reminder that I had a Dad out there who didn’t care about me. I started dying it, both as a point to say I wasn’t like him and to be more like my mom.”

It wasn’t until years later that she’d realized the reasons for why she’d died her hair to be more like her mother. All Vermilion could remember was not liking her hair. Now, though? Now she had two blonde aunts and her father was blond.

“So I’m guessing you can’t decide whether to keep your hair like your mom’s or not?”

That was as good an explanation as any so Vermilion nodded to her friend, “I don’t want to lose what I have left of Mom.”

“You already have plenty of your mom left.” This caused Vermilion to look at her friend suddenly, Noel continued with a smirk, “For one thing you’ve got Rosa Mors. You’re mom  _ designed  _ that. I think she’d be really happy you were using something she made. But the biggest thing is this.” Noel tapped Vermilion between her eyes, “And this.” She tapped the middle of her chest, “Your eyes and your memories. Mom’s shown me pictures of her team back when they went here. You’re the spitting image of your mom. If you want to show a bit of your dad… “Noel shrugged, “I think it’s fine.”

Vermilion hadn’t thought of that, that she already had so many connections left to her mother. On the other had her connection to her father was tenuous at best and she began looking at the blonde in her hair in a new light. She could always dye it again later right? There was no harm in letting it grow out.

“Anyways, the real reason I came over here was that I just got a notification.” Noel held her scroll out for Vermilion to see but the silver eyed girl had to grab it and pull it a little farther away from her face in order to even see it. On it was a message headed by the headmistress to their team.

“Missions will be handed out tomorrow?” Vermilion looked 

“Yup!”

Vermilion felt a nervous pang in her chest and this time it wasn’t her barely clothed teammate that did it. Her first mission was a big step and something she’d been both looking forward to and dreading for the last six months. She’d finally get outside of Beacon for the first time in months. 

Again her thoughts returned to the reason why she was at Beacon in the first place. The Cult that was hunting here. They had been quite in the time since the incident at the docks. They had come to her home and even followed her into Vale. 

She just hoped she’d be strong enough the next time they found her.


	10. Issue #10

Issue #10

  
  


* * *

  
  


The engines of the bullhead hummed, the wind outside whistling past the fuselage. Team BASK, called that for the moment and hopefully in the future as well, headed to their destination. The team had received their mission via their scrolls shortly after the speech by Headmistress Goodwitch, the mission having been picked for them as it was a test. The details listed a location a few miles outside of Azure Crest, a coastal town south-west of Vale, where increased Grimm activity had led to a spike in attacks. The town had put in a formal request to Vale for a team to come and clear whatever new nest had sprung up. 

Vermilion felt incredibly nervous, she’d dealt with Grimm in her time training at Beacon, had gone into expeditions into the Emerald Forest with Jaune. She’d killed Ursa and Beowolves since, but this was different. This was a test. This mission she was on would define the rest of her stay at Beacon and it made her more than a little queasy, it was either that or the bullhead. 

Vermilion was back in her cape with only some slight modifications, courtesy of her father, now having gauntlets covering her hands. They matched Jaune’s, being a cream white in color with golden accents. It was also their first time out on a mission so they were all dressed in their battle outfits, though Vermilion used the term loosely. To go with her pointed hat, Silvia was decked out in a flowing cloak over a long dress like one piece. A brown belt adorned her waist and was lined with dust vials. Hidden within the cloak was yet even more pouches filled with dust vials and crystals.

Noel was dressed in a white tank top with her nightshade symbol emblazoned in the center of it. The rest was simply black cargo pants with a leather holster for Aurora Rubra on her right thigh, she had by far the most practical attire of the group, bar her father, because Willa was dressed in, well, a dress. The girl kept claiming it was a battle skirt but Vermilion remained suspicious of the dress dyed in vibrant blues and stark whites. 

Noel’s head lolled to the side in her sleep, her cheek resting on Vermilion’s shoulder. The faunus had been out like a light minutes after take off. Willa had brought along a text book that she had read for a while but was now just rechecking all of her equipment whereas Silvia stared off into space, Vermilion still had no idea what was going on inside that girl’s head. Jaune sat across from her, arms crossed and eyes closed and she’d have thought him asleep had she not seen him react to subtle motions of the aircraft, specifically when they encountered turbulence.

The lights suddenly dimmed and Jaune’s eyes shot open and with his foot he nudged Noel none too gently on the shin, the girl waking up with a snort. Vermilion stifled a giggle but not before her friend caught it, sending her a baleful glare.

“It’s not funny, Mili.” Noel pouted, making Vermilion have to try harder not to laugh.

“It’s about to get even more unfunny if I don’t get your attention.” Jaune added, eyeing the whole team who immediately wiped the smiles off their faces to pay attention to him, “Alright you’ve all been given some of the basic details on the mission. Search and Destroy in sector twenty-nine, just a few miles outside of Azure Crest.”

Jaune placed his scroll on the floor, a topographical map of the area popping up above it, rotating slowly in the air, “This is the sector we will be clearing. As of the latest report Jackyll attacks have been on the rise so locals think a pack has moved in to this area. Hunters stationed at the town have sighted the Grimm coming from the East.”

Jaune gestured in the general direction of where the Grimm had been sighted, “The density of these attacks have the citizens holed up in the port and the hunters have their hands full securing the town. Noel, tell me what you know about Jackyll type Grimm.”

“The Jackyll is a canine type of Grimm known for travelling in large packs. Individually they’re pretty weak but they make up for it in numbers. They tend to have sharp fangs and claws similar to Beowolves but are purely quadrupedal. Spinal plating protects their backs and their jaws have very dangerous biting power.”

“Good. Willa, how should we search for the nest?”

The girl took a moment to consider the map. Sectors tended to be twenty square miles in area and were difficult enough to search, it was a lot of territory. After a minute she finally answered, “Considering the members we have it would probably be best to split up into three parts, Noel and me on one team and Silvia and Vermilion on another, yourself being alone.”

Jaune nodded, “Why those pairings?”

“Noel and I are not only partners but have complimenting abilities, my semblance makes me versatile with dust manipulation as well as having long range options to cover Noel’s more melee focused style. Silvia and Vermilion are much the same with Silvia being a dust user and Vermilion focusing on close range. Considering you are a professional huntsman, you would be able to handle yourself alone.”

“Good.” Jaune said, satisfied with her answer. He had no issue with the pairings, it being rather obvious with any degree of thought, “We’ll split up and search the sector one part at a time following parallel paths about a mile apart. If you find any Jackylls, do not engage. Follow them if you can to their nest, they are diurnal Grimm so usually they return by night if they can. We’ll meet back up at nightfall.”

At that moment the lights shifted to red, it was a signal that they were just a minute out and Jaune stood up, moving to the bullhead’s door. With the press of a button the hatch opened, letting in the snarling wind from outside that whipped at their hair. The wind lessened as the craft came to a hover above the densely forested area. The sector was still in the mountainous area of Sanus, more foothills at the base of the Bastion Mountain range. 

“All right girls, show me your landing strategy.” Jaune announced with a small smirk on his face at whatever joke was there, the other three got it as Noel giggled, getting up from her seat. Almost lazily she walked over to the open hatch and turned to her.

“See you on the ground!” And tipped backwards out of the bullhead, a broad smile on her face. Vermilion rushed to the edge in time to see her form disappear beneath the canopy though not before she saw her clone appear, linking hands, and propelling the girl towards a branch before vanishing. Willa was next and without a word she stepped off the aircraft like she was stepping down stairs. Bright white glyphs shimmered into existence in mid-air as she stepped down onto it, her foot contacting it like it was solid. With a spring in her step she shot off into the air, landing gracefully on one glyph after another until she, too, had vanished through the canopy. 

Silvia stepped up to the edge alongside Vermilion and hooked her arm through her new partner’s, “Allow me.” With panic she realized what the green haired girl meant but it was too late to stop the girl. With a tug she pulled them both out of the bullhead though neither of them was in freefall. A weird sensation of weightlessness came over her as she realized that the girl was using her semblance on both of them, the pair floating down towards the ground slowly. Not even a few moments later, her father rocketed down past them like a meteor, a brown, white, and gold streak and disappeared with a thud.

The last two to touch down did so as lightly as a feather but the journey had left her queasy and Silvia had her hands on her knees, brow covered in sweat, the use of her semblance on so much at once having taxed her. Jaune was standing off to the side though there was a crater a few feet off from where they had landed. 

“Alright BASK, split up and start search, make sure you stay in shortwave range and stay in contact, report anything suspicious.” Jaune said, working out the directions they’d need to go in to begin their search.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


“So,” Vermilion asked as she cut through a Beowolf that had burst through the underbrush at them, they had yet to actually see any Jackylls in the few hours they’d been trekking through the thick forest, “What made you join Beacon?” 

They’d travelled in relative silence the whole time but this was one of the first times she’d been alone with the strange girl, normally when they were together it was as a group and Silvia didn’t participate much except for the odd comment. 

“What else is a witch to do? I wanted to help people ever since I was adopted, Mom showed me how to use dust. It just felt right.” Silvia answered as she caved in the skull of another Grimm with her staff. She wasn’t using her dust attacks because it could not only alert Grimm in the area but she only had so much dust on her. 

“You were adopted?” Vermilion asked as they trudged back through the undergrowth.

  
  


“Yeah. I was in an orphanage until I was five. My parents were Huntresses, they graduated Haven together and just sort of fell in love after that. Mom started the dust lessons after I got into her ice vials and froze my hand to the table.” They both giggled at that, “Gwyn taught me how to fight. She was always tough on me, I hated it when I was younger but, well, it’s pretty useful now.”

“Sounds like your parents would be proud.” Vermilion commented, ducking under a low branch as they walked. It made her think of her parents, both were hunters and while she hoped her own mother would have been proud of her she wasn’t entirely sure about Jaune. He always felt distant, if a little grumpy at times. He had thawed out ever since her being his daughter came to light but it still felt like he didn’t know how to approach her, calling him Dad just didn’t feel right. 

Did she even want to be closer with him?

Yes. Yes she did, the answer was obvious but the how was a lot harder. They couldn’t exactly go out and bond together. He trained her, that was true, but with how harsh his training was it wasn’t good for a sentimental moment, especially not with her laid on the ground covered in sweat, not that she wasn’t grateful for his tutelage. She had improved by leaps and bounds over the last half year and it was mostly thanks to his close attention to her growth. But she was still seventeen, soon to be eighteen, and wasn’t young enough to need a father figure so much. 

They couldn’t really bond over killing Grimm, either. 

“What was your mom like?” Silvia asked, interrupting her thoughts.

“Eh?” Was Vermilions eloquent response.

“Your mom. She’s pretty famous in the hunter circles but what was she really like? Everyone only knows the genius weapon creator Ruby Rose, nobody knows Ruby Rose the mother.”

“Ah, well, she was pretty normal I guess? I knew she used to be a huntress but she couldn’t remember anything, she had amnesia. She loved baking cookies and helping out Toland. He’s the guy that found her. She read me bedtime stories all the time. Said they made her feel like she could almost remember something when she did.” Vermilion paused, “It’s one of the things I miss the most.” She said softly, Silvia almost didn’t catch it.

“She sounds great.”

“She really was.” Vermilion smiled sadly.

* * *

  
  
  


The fire crackled in the night, wisps of embers float up on a cushion of hot air as Vermilion stared into the burning flames. It was quiet except for the sound of the small campfire in the middle of the makeshift site they had made at the end of their long day searching. Her father was a fair distance away and apparently in a tree, having taken middle watch. Her own watch had just ended but she felt wide awake, the nervousness from before seeping back, unease clouding her chest and making it impossible to sleep even with how tired she was. 

With a sigh, she drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. It was hitting all at once, the loneliness she’d been reminded of from her earlier conversation with Silvia, the trepidation about her future, and the fear.

She’d never had enemies before, really. Not in the way she did now. People wanted to kill her for no other reason than that she had silver eyes. Just because she was born. The thought constricted her chest, her breath heaving. 

It terrified her.

She was just a seventeen year old girl. She’d lived in a small coastal village just half a year ago and now she was in the middle of a Grimm infested forest. She’d had to make the adjustment if she wanted to stay alive. No one should have to make that kind of choice, it wasn’t fair.

“Vermilion? You okay?” The voice caused her to look to her right and see the pair of amber orbs reflecting the firelight and staring straight at her with a worried gaze. 

“Fine.”Vermilion lied, “Did I wake you?”

Noel wasn’t having it, however, and with a small glare she sat up, ears on top of her head flicking forward, “I can hear your breathing. What’s eating you?”

“I…” Vermilion looked back into her lap, “I’m scared.”

“About the mission?” Vermilion shook her head, “The Salemites?” That got a nod.

“I can’t sleep. I’m scared and nervous, and I miss my mom.” Her voice cracked and her hand shot up to stifle the sound, trying not to wake anyone else. Her eyes burned as the emotional dam broke, the emotions she’d held in check for so long coming loose over a bit of nostalgia. Warm hands wrapped around her shoulders from behind.

“It’s okay Mili.” Noel whispered, “I’m here. I can stay with you if you want?” Vermilion could only nod, her hands grasping at Noel’s, drinking in the comforting presence. They stayed like that as the fire died down and she began to feel drowsy. But even being in the confines of her sleeping bag she could still feel the warm presence of her teammate at her back having drawn up her own sleeping bag and lain down with their backs touching through the material, it was a surprising comfort and one that had her drifting off to a peaceful sleep with one last thought.

_ I love this team. _

  
  


* * *

“High Priestess.” The hologram of Cole Crowley bowed on one knee before the garbed woman, her red eyes appraising the figure. She sat back in the high backed, ornate chair. It wasn’t a throne, only her Goddess could occupy that, but rather a comfortable chair from which she made her deliberations. It had deep red velvet cushions and the arms were carved from a dark black wood to look like snarling Grimm.

“Crowley. Report.”

“At once.” Cole stood again and met the eyes of his leader, the only person who could give him commands, with his own, thin, eyes, the hologram not displaying enough color to show off his deep gray irises that could be mistaken for black at a glance, “We have narrowed down the Winter Maiden’s location. Just as we suspected she is a Beacon, Ozpin is hiding is sheltering her.”

“Then she is not beyond our reach. Have you identified her?” Slowly she sipped from the wine glass, it’s blood red content disappearing behind her lips. 

“No, not yet. My greatest apologies High Priestess.”

The priestess waved it off with on hand, “No matter. You’ve narrowed it down to a few hundred students out of thousands of candidates in Vale. I’m assuming our asset in Beacon is currently looking?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“And your other objective?”

“The Third through Seventh seats have been dispatched to eliminate the child while she is out of Beacon’s reach.”

The Priestess hummed in response, “Tell me more.” 

“The Silver-eyed girl has gone on her mission. The seats available to me are moving in to eliminate her and everyone with her.”

Red eyes widened, “Arc will be there won’t he?”

“Yes, Mistress. There is one bit of new information we have received though I hesitate to tell you if it’s of no import.”

“No information, no matter how small, is useless Crowley.”

“Of course, Mistress, thank you for the wisdom.” He continued after she waved it away, “The silver-eyed girl happens to be the daughter of Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc. There is no doubt.”

The wine glass in her hand shattered under her grip, spilling the liquid across her but she paid it no attention as she bolted upright, “There is no doubt?”

“Indeed mistress, I would not dare to bring you unverified information.”

One hand came to her chin as she sunk into though, her black and white robes twirling around her as she paced before the hologram of her underling. This changed everything, it was like a bolt of lightning had struck her. The information was important, she knew it, but she had to figure out why. 

It hit her a moment later and a smile split her features, whirling around she addressed Crowley once more, “It is Destiny! We have been shown the path!”

“Mistress? I’m afraid I do not understand.”

“I didn’t expect you to, Crowley.” His eye twitched at the subtle dig, “This is the way we will revive our Goddess!”

When it was clear she wasn’t about to elaborate, Crowley was forced to ask, “In what way, Mistress?”

“Salem is of Grimm yet for the moment she is sealed away. What she needs is negativity and this time it shall be quality over quantity. Many suffer every day and it has no effect on our Goddess, it should be obvious, then, that she needs something exquisite. Something delectable.” Her smile turned manic, “Capture them alive. All of them. We shall drag Arc before our Goddess and torture his daughter in front of him.”

The Priestess snarled, We shall shove him into the pits of despair as a broken human being and when he has expended his use we shall kill him in the most agonizing and slow way possible. His grief and rage shall be the catalyst to re-awaken Salem.”

Cole’s eyes visibly widened and his mouth drifted open in awe for a moment before he snapped it shut, “High Priestess I will see to it at once.”

“Yes, Crowley, see to it and Salem will reward you for your loyalty.”

With a nod the projection winked out of existence, blanketing the solemn room in darkness with it’s sole occupant. Suddenly her goal was so close, after nearly two decades their Goddess would once again walk Remnant. The Priestess felt giddy, euphoric even, and let a giggle slip from her mouth. With that the bulwark of her self control was lost as she descended into laughter that echoed off the walls of her chambers.


	11. Issue #11

Issue #11

  
  
  


* * *

“That’s a lot of Grimm.” Noel whispered as she settled down next to Vermilion. They’d finally found the Jackyll horde around midday, the sun blazing through the canopy of the forest without a cloud in sight. Down below in the valley in the foothills of the mountains were the hundred strong Grimm, a mass of black and white with the sounds of growling and snuffling.

“What are they waiting for? I thought packs don’t congregate like this.” Vermilion questioned aloud. The two sat in a shrub on the edge of the ridge overlooking the valley. Silvia and Willa were nearby in their own camouflaged spot just a few dozen feet away, Jaune had his own spot to their right. Somehow they couldn’t see him even though he was closer than Willa and Silvia. Maybe it was his brown duster letting him blend in.

_ “Jackyll Grimm aren’t known for collecting in such numbers or staying in one place for so long. Nests usually last for about a month before they move on. The fact they’re so close to the town but haven’t thrown themselves at the defenses is a little worrying.”  _ Jaune added over their earpieces. 

_ “Either way we have to destroy this nest.”  _ Willa said,  _ “What’s the plan?” _

“Torch ‘em?” Noel suggested.

_ “In a forest?!”  _ Willa yelled, _ “Are you insane? No don’t answer that, of course you are.” _

_ “Hold on.”  _ Jaune stopped her tirade,  _ “Silvia, Willa how much rock dust do you have?” _

_ “I have ten vials.” _

_ “I have fifteen.” _

_ “If we use all the rock dust we have then we should be able to create a perimeter around the Grimm and then we can set the interior ablaze.”  _ Jaune elaborated.

_ “That’s! That’s not actually a bad plan.”  _ Willa relented.

“It’ll be safer than trying to go down there and kill them all by hand, that’s for sure.” Vermilion added. 

“I guess that’s the plan.” Noel concluded before asking, “Anything you’d recommend Jaune?”

“Just be careful. We’ll split the dust up amongst ourselves and cover different areas. Luckily there isn’t any foliage on this side of the valley, it’s too steep.” Jaune cautioned.

Vermilion carried two vials on her own so when they divided the dust out each person carried five except for Silvia and Willa who each carried six. It was determined the two dust users would cover the two ends of the valley with Noel being towards Willa’s position and Jaune’s who was taking the center on the other side of the valley. Vermilion got the last position between Jaune and Silvia.

Her boots slid on the dirt as she slid down the steep slope a good distance away from the horde. They had decided to split into two groups and go down separate sides of the valley with Silvia a few feet away, her robes flapping in the wind. Eventually they hit the treeline at the bottom of the valley and the ground evened out. Silvia’s Erwydd O’Morgen dug into the ground and the girl stopped short.

With a nod Vermilion caught her footing on the ground and broke out into a sprint as her own slide came to an end, leaving her partner in the trees as she approached her position. Luckily for them the horde seemed to be packing in tight on whatever was in the center, they couldn’t see through the canopy what was there but it was probably the Alpha. 

Not that it mattered, they’d all be purged by the fire.

Thanks to her training with Jaune over the last half a year she was no longer winded by the short spring to her position and by the time she reached hers, so had the others. Facing towards where the horde was she could make out in the far distance the writhing mass of black and white. They had to do this fast, before the Grimm noticed and broke through the perimeter. 

Rosa Mors expanded into it’s shield on her arm and she drew the blade out with a quiet ring. It was an expertly made blade, the steel whispering out with nary a sound. The vials situated in her shield were all switch to dust, some having already been loaded into the blade. The channel along the fuller was filled with a brown dust that looked almost like dirt. Rock dust wasn’t flashy like fire or electric dust and thus was rarely used by students who didn’t study in the use of dust as a mode of attack, like Willa and Silvia. Her father had made her sure to always be prepared so she carried a vial of every basic type chambered in Rosa Mors with a few extra in the dust pouches on her belt. 

They’d all worked out the directions they be going until they met up with their respective partner. Noel would use her semblance, Duet, to go in both direction towards Willa and Jaune where Jaune would form his wall in Vermilions direction and Vermilion would move towards Silvia and Silvia towards her. The only direction not covered was the steep ridge they’d started on but hopefully none of the Grimm could climb that and if they did Willa could pick them off with her weapon. 

So with blade in hand Vermilion cut a slash into the ground and stone sprang up like some sort of rapidly growing plant, shooting into the sky.The tips of the rock walls were thin but enough to block some fire and reached above the canopy and stretched about ten feet to either side. It looked like intent really did matter, like Silvia had advised. Dust was triggered by aura or physical stimulus. So using aura with Rosa Mors she could activate the dust and shape it to her will, within reason. 

The dust in the blade was only half used up and she could fill it a few more times from the single vial, and she had five vials. If she didn’t mess up she could make it to Silvia, no problem. Another slash and another section came into being, just a few inches taller than the last but a little misshapen.

A dozen sections later and she was down to her last vial, a trail of mismatched earthen walls leading her towards where she had com from. A few more sections and Rosa Mors clicked empty, her last vial used up. Still, she could not see Silvia, if all had gone well, should have been there.

“Rock wall!” She heard the cry and nearly leapt out of her skin as rocks came bursting forth from deeper in. The wall Silvia made was sturdier and better formed than hers, rising well above the canopy. 

“Hey-ho~” Silvia waved as she called out to her partner, appearing from around the side of her wall, “Nice wall Mili.”

Vermilion slapped her hand into the proffered high-five and gazed up at the wall the witchy girl had made, “Not as good as yours, though.”

“Silvia Keppel, the Witch of Architecture!” The girl struck a cute pose with her tongue stuck out and chest puffed forward. Vermilion hand to slap her hand up to her mouth to stop herself from laughing and shot her partner a glare.

_ “Status?”  _ Jaunes voice cut in over the comms.

_ “Northern end is complete.”  _ Noel sounded off. 

“Just about to link up in the south.” Vermilion answered.

_ “Hurry up.”  _ She winced at Jaune’s impatient tone. 

Silvia was looking at her strangely, “What is it?”

“Oh nothing just waiting for you to complete the wall.” She answered.

“I’m out of dust.” Vermilion showed the girl her empty vials and the green haired girl opened her robes and amongst all the vials in her coat, not a single one remained of rock dust. They both looked each other in the eyes and visibly paled, then turned to look at the gap that was left in the wall, a good hundred feet.

“Oh crap.” Vermilion cursed. That was when they heard it. The howls from the Jackylls that showed their time was up. The mass in the distance exploded into action and was starting to get closer, “Double crap!”

_ “Did you complete the southern wall?” _ Jaune’s voice cut through.

“Not yet! Ran out of dust!” Vermilion cried out while Silvia seemed to be reaching into her robes. 

_ “We’re on our way! Hold on!”  _ Jaune shouted in the microphone.

“Conflagration!” Silvia shouted and flung both hands out in front of her. Vermilion caught a glimpse of bright red dust before the air ignited into flames. Massive swathes of heat and fire rolled into the trees in front of them. The entire gap was set ablaze with the fire being carried quite the distance towards the oncoming Grimm. 

Out of the roaring flames came snarling Grimm bounding towards them. Rosa Mors lanced out and cut down the leading Jackyll mid air, the Grimm disappearing in a cloud. The second rammed head first into her shield, the click of a button switching the vials in the shield allowing her to fire a burst of electricity from the shield to finish the burning Grimm off. 

“Ice Barrier!” Came the shout from behind her and torrent of blue flashed passed her head and struck the ground at the edge of the wall, creating a similar structure made of ice. A third Grimm sprinted around the ice and made a beeline for the pair. Using her shield as it pounced, Vermilion flipped it over her head and impaled it with a thrust of her blade.

“Ice Barrier!” Silvia yelled again, once more throwing out the ice dust and creating another section of wall. They just over halfway through the gap and some of the ice had encased a few Jackylls, freezing over the burning Grimm and causing them to dissipate into thin air, leaving holes in the wall, “Vermilion!” Her partner pointed at the openings and she knew what she had to do. Rotating the vials in her shield she charged her blade with ice dust and proceeded to block the two openings the Grimm had made as Silvia created another wall. This new section formed straight up, impaling a Grimm that was trying to get around the barrier. 

Quickly, Vermilion ran over to the last section of the wall that needed to come up. Silvia pulled the stopper from her dust vial and shook loose the contents into her hand. “Ice Barrier!” Was shouted a final time as the ice formed quickly, closing up the gap between the ice and where her stone wall ended. As the wall formed another Jackyll leaped over it sailing straight for Silvia. 

Time seemed to slow for Vermilion, her body feeling like it was suddenly full of electricity, the very air vibrating with energy. With the press of a button she activated the shield charge and then hurled the thing at the Grimm. She watched in slow motion as the spinning kite shield bisected the Grimm, electricity sparking from its surface. Everything snapped back to normal speed and her shield buried it’s edge deep into the wood, still vibrating slightly from the impact. 

She blinked a few times and then shook her head, running up to her friend, “Are you alright?!”

“Yeah I’m fine. Nice throw, Mili.” Silvia took a deep breath.

Vermilion retrieved her shield, grunting as she pulled it free from the tree. She felt tired and her muscles were suddenly groaning. 

“Woah, run out of rocks, guys?” Noel jogged up to them, Jaune covering the rear and Willa eyeing their impromptu wall made of ice. 

“Something like that. I hope it lasts long enough.” By then the fire was in full swing and spreading like the wildfire it was. Black smoke bellowed into the air, darkening it. The rush of the flames consuming the trees almost drowned out the howling of the Jackylls as they were burned enmass. 

“Willa, use what ice you can to reinforce that section.”Jaune pointed to their ice wall. Her weapon flashed out in glaive form a spinning set of glyphs appeared at the base of the ice wall and even more ice grew to reinforce it, “Are you two okay?”

“Yeah, it was just a few Grimm. They-” A fierce howl, different from the others, rent the air, interrupting Vermilion.

The thick black smoke rising into the air billowed out into seven large forms hurtling at them at incredible speed through the air. With heavy thuds the creatures landed among them as black blurs. Everyone was forced to dodge or be crushed and Vermilion brought her shield up just in time as a trunklike arm came sweeping out of the dust that had been thrown up by it’s landing, impacting her shield and sending her flying back. 

Something broke underneath her as her back impacted a nearby tree with her head snapping back to echo the first crack with another. Even with her aura, the blow was painful and had her seeing stars. Rapidly blinking them away she got her first good look at the Grimm that attacked her. 

It stood hunched over at an easy eight feet tall, it’s think forelimbs ending in wicked looking claws. Bat-like wings folded down and wrapped close to its body, it’s face matching the bat theme with a scrunched snout and tall ears standing up straight, though the long fangs descending from it’s mouth spoke of its intended purpose. Behind it six more of the monsters assaulted the rest of her team.

The beast charged at her and in a panic she ducked down, it’s claws shredding into the tree, causing splinters to fly in every direction. Vermilion jumped back to get some room, raising her shield but that proved to be a mistake as the Grimm took both of it’s arms and hammered down atop her, driving her knee painfully into the dirt. When the pressure relented she struck out with her blade, scoring a line across it’s abdomen. 

With a roar the beast retaliated be grabbing her shield in hand and hurling her bodily into a nearby tree. The only thing Vermilion could do was to curl into a ball and take the impact. She was beginning to hate trees. Rolling once she hit the ground she barely avoided the follow up attack from the beast.

“Tyrant Grimm! Very dangerous and very intelligent. DO NOT LET THEM BITE YOU!” Jaune roared and the comms echoed him leaving her ear ringing. 

The Tyrant attacking her loomed before her, claws descending towards her with lightning speed. With a grunt she pulled her shield back and thrust the edge out, diverting the attack into the ground and following up with a thrust that cut deeply into the crook of the Tyrant’s arm. The beast roared and pulled back but Vermilion leapt onto the hilt of Rosa Mors, with the combined weight of her leaning on the weapon and the beast thrashing about her weapon cut through its arm. With a squelch the blade came free and Vermilion fell to the ground, the severed limb impacting next to her and started dissolving immediately.

The remaining arm slammed down atop her and she brought her shield up in time to prevent the claws from cutting at her, though she could still feel her aura dip as she was pinned to the ground, the beast leaning over her with it’s glowing red eyes. Slowly it’s mouth opened and the fangs hung there on full display. The beast froze for a moment and she could feel the vibration of several thuds slam into the Tyrant. Looking down the black body she could see three protrusions from it’s chest at a sharp angle. The objects were long and sharp, dyed crimson from the beasts insides but still clearly made of ice. 

Heaving a sigh the beast collapsed over her and through great effort she tried to move the corpse aside as it started dissolving. On her third heave the body shifted off of her and in its place stood Silvia, a worried look on her face as she offered a hand to her.

“Thanks. That was close.” Vermilion took the hand and was pulled up suddenly, “I thought you were outta ice, though?”

“We have to help the others.” Silvia ignored the question entirely, “Draw them together!” She shouted at the group. 

Now, without a Grimm trying to tear her head off, Vermilion could survey the scene. Willa was dueling of of the Tyrants herself, attempting to push it back towards Jaune and Noel. Noel was using Duet fully and teaming up with Jaune to take out the four Grimm working together though it seemed as if they were having a hard time of it. Jaune moved to block every time Noel would have taken a hit but he was suffering for it, taking hit after hit. 

Willa noticed the situation and ducked under a quick swipe from her Tyrant and started running for the pack attacking Jaune and Noel, as did Vermilion and Silvia. The Schnee used her glaive to vault over the arm swinging for her as one of the other four noticed her. Landing in a roll she came up on the other side, with Jaune and Noel. 

“Cover!” Silvia shouted, dipping her hands into her robes again, the girl had to be getting low on dust, what she came out with caused Vermilion’s heart to skip a beat. Four vials of a bright yellow dust. Lightning dust, “Lightning Surge!” The girl cried out and not for nothing all the vials emptied into the air and the surrounding area exploded in a flash of light and charged ions. 

The electricity surged forwards faster than the eye could see, overwhelming the Grimm. Once Vermilion uncovered her eyes she saw the tree of them mopping up the rest of the Grimm, their steaming corpses falling to the ground after being flash fried. The steam turned to black smoke as the Tyrants dissolved into the air. Behind them the fire roared in full force, black plumes growing ever larger as the fire spread.

It took hours for the fire to burn down enough for them to enter the enclosure. They had spent the entire time checking the perimeter to make sure that none of the embers had escaped over the walls and had luckily only needed to put out some small flames. Their aura protected them from the heat emanating from the charred and still burning trees. No Grimm were found, even when they hit the center and with the fire still raging toward the other end it was unlikely many Grimm had escaped if any. Silvia and Willa worked together to snuff out the rest of the flames, a whirlwind sucking the air out of the fire and leaving it smoldering at the edges of the walls. Almost nothing stood within the wall they had made, over a hundred Grimm reduced to ash and smoke. 

“Well at least we know why that horde was there.” Jaune said as he triggered the pickup beacon, “Tyrants are known for using minions and lesser Grimm to do their bidding.”

“I’ve never heard of Tyrants. Are they rare?” Willa asked.

“Very. I’ve only ever encountered them once before, when... “ Jaune shook his head, “They’re really dangerous and shouldn’t be engaged unless you can’t help it.”

It took a half hour before they could hear the droning in the distance, the sound of the aircraft’s engines echoing off of the valley’s walls. By that point most of the heat from the fire had dissipated and the smoke was down to a minimum.

“I need a shower.” Noel complained, pulling the edge over her top out and waving it to dispel the sweat on her body. Vermilion's body still ached from the earlier action but she felt satisfied. They’d passed the test the Headmistress had set out for them, she would be officially added into team BSK, which would be renamed BASK, and made Silvia’s official partner. She couldn’t help the smile that stole over her features and it seemed Noel didn’t miss it either.

“Now you’re officially one of us!” Noel crowed as she slung an arm around Vermilion’s shoulders, “We’re gonna be spending the next three and a half years together.”

She felt the heat suffuse her cheeks and busied herself looking up at the bullhead as it came into view, growing bigger by the second. She couldn’t help the way her stomach fluttered when thinking about spending time with everyone, especially Noel. 

Vermilion watched the bullhead as something bright streaked out from the canopy, a plume left behind it in a curving trail as it impacted the fuselage of the aircraft. With a loud boom the entire thing was engulfed in flames, dropping like a stone from the sky until it slammed into the forest floor below. There was a brief silence before Jaune yelled.

“Ambush!”


	12. Issue #12

Issue #12

  
  
  


* * *

“Ambush!” 

The word froze everything for a split second as the flaming remains of the bullhead they had been supposed to board crashed through the forest canopy some distance away. Only Jaune reacted in time, grabbing his daughter and throwing them both to the ground and shouting at the others to do the same as dust rounds lit up charred remains of the forest around them

With a clang it was deflected by Jaune’s shield, bouncing off of a nearby trunk and ricocheting back towards where it came from. The girls hauled themselves up and stood in a loose circle, weapons drawn, and ready for whatever came next. A woman stepped out from behind a dessicated trunk carrying the weapon that had been thrown at them. The size of a hula-hoop, the ring had a bladed outside and purple dust crystals could be seen lining both the interior and the back of the armored gauntlets adorning the woman’s hand. Her eyes were a vivid blue but besides that there were no other discernible traits showing from under the black clothing she was swaddled in. The only thing on them that identified her was Salem’s red eye symbol on the black mask over her mouth.

Three others came into the view wearing identical clothing, all adorned with a red eye and wielding various weapons, in a loose encirclement. Jaune kept his shield out and guard up as he looked around at the enemies materializing out of the residual smoke. Vermilian was at his back with a similar stance. Willa had her weapon in trident form, it’s forks sparking with electricity and Noel had her spear out and activated, it’s unique keening whine accompanying the plasma coating the tip of the weapon, glowing bright orange. They had pushed Silvia into the center of the circle, being the one the most adept with dust usage she could cover them with what she had left, mostly fire and lightning. 

A dual hook-sword user and another woman that had a flail and shield combo. The last was a bo staff user twirling his weapon in a vaguely threatening manner. 

The woman with the large circular blade was the first to speak, her voice a low purr, “May you find peace in the embrace of the Goddess.” She touched her first two fingers to the center of her forehead and then the group of assassins burst into motion, breaking the stalemate. There was another loud clang as Jaune once again deflected the large circular blade but this time into the ground. Like the bell to signal the beginning of a match team BASK leapt into action to meet their attackers, they weren’t known for being passive. The lead woman ran at the aging huntsman, her gauntlet held out for her weapon and with a glow of purple the blade leapt from the ground and into her hand as she sprinted to clash with Jaune. 

Her attacks were fluid and graceful, like she was dancing instead of fighting. Slashes came and went as the woman moved in concentric circles with her weapon, each one bouncing off of Crocea Mors’ shield or being diverted by the sword itself. At the same time the others rushed in, Silvia threw her hands out after yelling at her teammates to duck, red motes danced in the air for a brief moment before she shouted, “Conflagration!” And the dust in the air ignited, shaped by her aura as it raced outwards towards the three approaching enemies. 

However it was this moment of distraction the cost her as she felt something clamp down on her ankle, hard enough to draw some blood before her aura prevented further damage from the surprise attack. A flash of light blue surrounding her leg and extending out of their protective circle was all she got as she felt it pull her off her feet. She went down with a yelp and her team shouted in surprises as the glowing blue tether drew taught and  _ yanked _ the young girl high into the air, flexing like a whip. Silvia let out a wail as she was dragged through the air and out of sight.

“Silvia!” Vermilion screamed as Noel let out a curse, before any of them could make to follow the three others had engaged them, the man with dual hook swords sweeping in and attempting to gouge out Willa’s eyes, her weapon came up to block and the hooks snagged it, drawing her out of balance and letting the man drive his knee into her stomach. 

Noel separated into two, forming her semblance as the man with the bo staff came in, though now it was no longer just a staff. Bright blue glowed and formed a blade along the haft out of hard light and the man brought his weapon down right where she had been standing just a second ago. The hard light blade bit deep into the burnt soil but the man had to leap back as both Noel’s stabbed out at him, one going high and the other low. They worked in perfect sync against the man. One would parry and the other would attack, trading roles back and forth.

Vermilion’s own opponent rushed in with her flail, the head of the weapon shining a dull pink with aura. Wary of the weapon the huntress in training elected to dodge it instead of taking it head on and she was proven right as the weapon smashed into the ground, kicking up an inordinate amount of dirt and soot into the air. That’s when she saw her chance and the young woman rushed forward, unable to take her eyes off the direction that Silvia had gone. She needed to get to her partner. She felt the air fill with energy and everything seemed to slow down for her. There was a hum in the air and she could clearly see the attacker making to stop her, the buckler on her off hand leaping towards her face. It moved so slowly now and though her body felt stiff, like the air was as thick as water, she moved her head to the side, the attack missing by a few hairbreadths. With that she was through the woman’s guard and all out sprinting in her partner’s direction. 

With a last glance back as her team called her name she saw the flail user reaching out to snag her collar but behind her was another looming shadow, a glint of silver as a blade descended upon the woman like a meteorite falling from the sky. Still caught in the strange phenomenon, she watched as the assassin turned and took the attack from her father on her shield, the blade stopping without sound nor bouncing off of the buckler. A flash and the flail started glowing again, this time much brighter. 

Vermilion looked ahead once more, leaving them, and her team, to Jaune as she rushed to her partner.

* * *

Silvia cried out as the wind whipped at her hair and sent her robes fluttering in every direction, even through the surprise attack she kept hold of her faithful staff, Erwydd O’Morgen, and used it to doge the blackened husks of trees as they flew by her head, she used her semblance to make herself heavier and kept on adding more to it until she slowed. At that point whoever had a hold of her slammed her bodily into the ground, disrupting her concentration and then using the opportunity to fling her into a nearby tree. 

She gasped and coughed, thankful for her aura saving her life. She hadn’t taken any damage in the previous fight against the Tyrants and a quick check to her scroll told her her aura was above seventy. Lucky for her, the attack could have taken much more. Staff held out defensively, she took stock of her surroundings, she’d been pulled a fair distance from her group, a good six or seven hundred feet. Far enough she couldn’t see them through the dead trees and now whoever had grabbed her had her alone. A sound from her left had her whirling around in time to deflect a vibrant blue claw as a figure in black passed by her, a fifth assassin, and as he did so, his leg lashed out cover in the same glowing aura taking the form of a thick, trunk-like leg, and kicked her back.

Silvia used her semblance to let the force propel her a good distance away, lowering and increasing her own mass to gently set herself on the ground. As her assailant charged across the distance she had gained, she reached into her robes and produced her last lightning vial and popped the stopper on it. The yellow dust floated out in front if her as the man stopped short, “Lightning bolt!”

Hands held out in front of her the electricity surged towards the man and made contact with a mighty crack as the bolt rent the air. When the eyes she’d closed to protect her vision from the attack opened she noticed him almost upon her, arms crossed like an x in front of him and a blue aura solidly blocking in front of him. 

A red and black object blurred past her vision, impacting the would be assassin in the side of the head and cracking it to the side, causing him to stumble. With a furious yell, Vermilion came charging up, catching her thrown shield on the rebound, and punched the man with the metal edge of the shield, sending him sprawling. With a flip the man got to his feet, apparently only barely affected by the attack. 

“You okay?” Vermilion asked as she took a stance next to her partner. 

“Somehow. What about you guys?” She was running low on dust. That had been her last lightning and her ice and rock dust were spent as well. That left her fire, lucky for her there was nothing left after they set fire to the forest earlier so she could use as much as she wanted. Hopefully ten vials would be enough, she’d used a couple already. 

“Jaune’s taking on two of them. Noel and Willa one each. We need to hurry up and get back.” Neither of the girls took their eyes off their opponent who seemed content to wait. His aura pooled around his hands, the blue claws making a reappearance. 

“I doubt he’s just going to let us-” Silvia didn’t get to finish as blue aura erupted from the ground beneath their feet, the aura tentacles slamming into both of them and launching the pair back. The witch landed on the ground, rolling to a stop as Vermilion was propelled through a burnt tree, shattering it. With no time to react the limb wrapped around her ankle and she panicked. Pulling out four fire vials she emptied all of them into the air as the tentacle tightened, ripping up the ground between them and revealing tunnel it had dug from their opponent to them. 

It let go as the dust was set ablaze, “Pyroblast!” The massive sphere of fire hurtled towards the man where it exploded like a miniature sun. 

* * *

Vermilion struggled to regain her breath. She’d been caught unprepared and the blow had reduced her aura a fair bit. From the battle with the Tyrant to this she’d hardly had the chance to recover and it was decidedly low, sitting in the orange levels, close to red as it was. She felt the heat wash over her and saw Silvia’s attack go off, and for a moment she was hopeful until that light blue limb speared out of the billowing smoke, the tip forming the shape of claws, and shearing through Silvia’s robes, her dust vials scattering. 

Vermilion’s heart stopped as the second appendage shot out and split into a half a dozen scilla, each one contacting and breaking the vials as they tumbled about in mid air. The resulting explosion engulfed her partner. Screaming, she was running before she had a chance to think about it. Silvia’s white aura flexed and then shattered right before the clawed limb moved back in to finish the job. The world slowed down in Vermilion’s eyes, her muscles burned and struggled against the viscous air and she felt the resistance lessen gradually until she made it to her partner’s side. 

Rosa Mors glinted in an imitation of her father’s blade, a meteorite speeding through the air. She begged it to move faster, to be sharper. She felt her aura pour into the weapon and watched as it sliced clean through the limb reaching for the down Silvia. The severed portion dissolved instantly and the world came crashing back to full speed as her sword dug into the ground, leaving a furrow where it impacted. 

It wasn’t over yet though as the assassin leapt into the air with the aid of his aura manipulation, both hands forming massive claws the his aura limbs splayed out behind his back, prepared to strike. Vermilion lifted her shield, ready to give her life for her friend. 

The man never made it to her. A powerful gust of wind tore through the air, slamming the man into the ground like he’d been swatted from the sky. The force of the impact bounced him a foot off the ground until the gust pinned him down into the dirt, a constant stream pouring from above. Vermilion felt something stir behind her and she looked at her partner who was no longer collapsed on the ground. 

No longer was she on the ground at all, Silvia hovered above head height, wind, dust, and soot whipped up around her but the most notable thing was her eye. Burning there out of the corner of her eyes were dark green flames that flickering with fury. The young woman raised her hand and dozens, no hundreds of icicles formed in the air. Like a queen issuing an execution she let her hand fall and with it the spears made of ice descended at once on the man pinned by wind. 

When the dust settled all that remained of him was a tomb of ice, all was still except for the wind surrounding her friend. It died down as she grew closer with the ground, cutting off completely a foot from the ground and the girl stumbled into her partner’s arms. The flames in her eyes lowered to a bare flicker, Silvia’s hand found her cheek.

“Good. You’re… okay.” It took the last of her strength and she fell slack into Vermilion’s arms.

“I should be the one saying that to you.” She muttered to her unconscious partner before her worried eyes roved over her, “What on Remnant are you?”


	13. Issue #13

Issue #13

  
  


* * *

Vermilion huffed and puffed as she carried her unconscious partner through the burned out forest. Distantly she could hear the sounds of combat as they drew closer. The clearing was just up ahead and the din could be heard clearly. Letting Silvia rest against a trunk, Vermilion let her down ever so gently, careful of her auraless partner. It took her a moment to take stock of what was happening in the clearing. Some space had been cleared out between the dueling parties, whether that was a plan by the attackers or her team she wasn’t sure but at least it looked like Noel was holding her own against her opponent. Her Duet was keeping the man at bay as his staff, glowing blades on both ends, fended off her various thrusts.

Willa wasn’t faring as well as her own partner. The man with hook swords was diverting her attacks with ease and though he never scored clean hits, he was steadily chipping away at her aura with his counter attacks. The girl’s stamina was clearly lagging and it seemed she would not be able to keep up with the intensity for much longer. It was obvious to Vermilion that the man was wearing her down on purpose, only attacking to keep up the pressure but otherwise content only to counter attack the Schnee. 

Jaune was… Jaune was doing surprisingly fine, or at least it seemed so to her. Considering he was against two huntsman level opponents the fact that he was still going strong had to have been a sign. The woman with the bladed ring created distance constantly to try and throw her weapon, distance that Jaune was acting to prevent. Rapidly he closed in, diverting the blade with his shield and coming in for a round slash at her midsection. It seemed his other opponent wised up to his strategy and slid in with her own shield and took the blow for her ally. Instantly her flail started glowing as she swung it at Jaune. It must have happened many times before because he danced back instead of blocking. 

A yelp drew her attention back to Willa as her opponent managed to hook her leg and draw it out, upsetting her balance as he stabbed at her midsection. The haft of her weapon blocked it but she clearly felt the impact since she was sent flying, soot and dirt scattering as her body tumbled along the ground. 

Vermilion couldn’t wait any longer and darted into the clearing, feet tearing up the burned soil as she closed in on Hooksword. His advance towards Willa was halted as she hurtled into him at full speed, shield first. He most likely hadn’t heard her and she hit him like a freight train and bore both of them to the ground. Through some luck she managed to straddle him, pummeling his face with the pommel of her blade and the edge of her shield until the man struck at her with his own blades, the sharp edges around the hilt impacting her neck and tossing her back. Her aura dipped and hovered perilously low. 

However that was enough to allow Willa to recover and the girl was at Vermilion’s side in a second, trident held in a high position, ready for the enemy, “Vermilion! Where’s Silvia?”

“Fine but unconscious. She should be safe for now.” Vermilion’s answer was curt and it looked like Willa wanted to inquire more but realized it probably wasn’t the best time. If the enemy found their teammate she would be helpless.

“Let us defeat this man and then help the others.” The brunette could only nod and out of the corner of her eye she could see Willa tense up.

“Rising Dawn?” Vermilion asked. They had trained a few team attacks, a staple as Professor Xiao-Long called it. 

“Hm, may as well. Ready?” Tri-hard switched to it’s glaive form, and wasn’t that name interesting. Willa had been incredibly reluctant to tell her the name of her weapon until Noel had blurted it out one day. The story was that apparently her father had let his best friend name it.

Maybe not everyone put much thought into their weapon names.

“Yup.” 

The enemy eyed them warily, unwilling to underestimate them, since it seemed she had come back and his ally had not. They could all tell what it meant, but that didn’t mean they necessarily had the advantage. Vermilion still had low aura and the squad display on her scroll told her that Willa wasn’t in much better condition. The pair needed to end this fast and help the others out fast. 

Vermilion charged ahead, shield up with her eyes just above the rim, hearing the footsteps of Willa just behind her. Hooksword took a stance, one blade low and the other high as he watched them approach. What he didn’t expect was all the glyphs that sprung to life around him, whirring in a sort of dome around him. She was glad her teammate had the strength to summon so many as another appeared just before her, a foot off the ground. 

Without hesitation Vermilion leapt onto the glyph, feeling the weird sensation of being forced into a certain direction as her foot contacted the tangible glyph. It was like being sucked into a tunnel and she let her body flow into it, leaping off of the glyph and into the direction it was pushing her. Doing so she felt like time was slowing down again and her mind raced. As she rocketed past the enemy her blade was deflected by his as Vermilion twisted about in mid air, legs absorbing the impact of hitting the next glyph in the sequence. 

He must have realized what was about to happen but it was far too late for him to react. Rising Dawn was an attack they had come up with utilizing Willa’s glyphs and Vermilion’s weapon. But now it was unlike anything they had ever pulled off in practice. The man moved at a snail’s pace and she could feel herself getting faster, like before with the aura user. So she focused on the sensation, sharpened it and felt the air around her getting thinner, less resistant. All this took place in the fraction of a second it took for the glyph to redirect her towards another one and her blade flashed out faster than the eye could see as she raced past him, scoring a hit on his shoulder, aura crackling as it prevented her blade from slicing him in two. 

But that wasn’t the end, of course, the dozen glyphs around him shot her from one to the next and each time she landed a blow against him, his aura flaring with each. The final glyph was head on from the man and he was reeling from the high speed assault. Her legs absorbing yet another impact she landed on the glyph and chambered her sword against her shoulder, point of the blade straight out. This was it, her best chance. The strategy wouldn’t work again and Willa likely didn’t have the strength to make this many glyphs again. Vermilion launched off of the glyph in a streak and thrust Rosa Mors out as she did so, slamming into the man and tackling him to the ground.

Rolling to a stop, Vermilion leapt into a crouch, ready for anything, but paused when she saw what was before her. Rosa Mors was dug into the man’s chest and a scarlet pool was quickly spilling onto the ground around him. She’d seen it but at the speed she’d been going there was nothing that could have been done. 

A short distance away Will met her eyes and she received a small nod from, before rushing off to help Noel and leaving her there with the man she had just killed. Swallowing, she walked up to the still warm corpse and grabbed the hilt of Rosa Mors, pulling it free with a sickening squelch that had her bringing a hand to her mouth in order to prevent something from coming out.

-SY-

Jaune spun just in time to block the flail that had been hurtling towards the back of his head, but couldn’t stop to take advantage of the opening as the large, circular blade his other opponent wielded came for his midsection. It sparked and glanced off of his own and his lungs were starting to burn as the two women didn’t let up on the pressure they’d been putting on him the entire time. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his own daughter take out one of the assassins and would have felt a rush of pride had he not been sandwiched between two skilled opponents. 

It seemed he could worry less now that it looked like two of the assassins were out of the fight. Despite that it was taking up much of his concentration just defending from the two attacking him. Jaune threw himself backwards as the hula-blade spun past him and a part of him hoped it would hit the flail woman. It did but not in the way he was hoping. With ease she caught it on her shield and sent it spinning off into the air, arching back towards its user thanks to the gravity dust inside it. He groaned inwardly as the flail took on a pink glow once more, knowing what was coming next and not looking forward to it. This was the reason he was having such a hard time against the pair. Neither of them was exceptionally skilled on their own. Good, yes, but not on Qrow or Tyrian’s level for sure. What was annoying was that they worked together really well. Close range on one end and long on the other, they covered each other’s weaknesses and positioned themselves in a way to take advantage of missed opportunities. Like using her allies’ attack to fuel her own semblance, the woman with the flail was pretty devious. 

He’d been trying the whole fight to get a bead on her semblance. It was obviously like Yang’s, some kind of absorption ability that worked on her equipment. The question was whether it worked only on the shield and flail or if she could do it with any part of her and now he had his answer. She had attempted to take every attack on her shield but the one he had landed on her flail had been absorbed as well. Next he had landed a strike against her thigh, the same feeling of the force of his blow being sucked away was missing and it had glanced off of her aura. 

Now he just had to hope the other one didn’t pull out some crazy ace in the hole semblance.

He’d been whittling their aura down through small blows and diversions. A nick here and a scrape there. Jaune’s muscles were already starting to burn. Huntsman on huntsman combat was incredibly high intensity and even with aura to supplant stamina, it was the one area that was considered most important. Flashy moves couldn’t help you when you were tired. 

Qrow had taught him that and the man didn’t earn the title as one of Vale’s strongest for nothing. The man had spent years training him and his friends to be top notch hunters, add on to that their other teachers and the massive amount of experience they gained from the life and death fights they’d been in over and over again? You produced some of the best huntsmen and huntresses on Remnant. They had to be. It was do or die back then. 

Still was. 

Of all the people they had learned from, Qrow was the most unique. He had never been an orthodox individual. Maybe it was his bandit upbringing, maybe it was his bad luck semblance, or maybe it was all the loss he suffered but the man had a lot of tricks to share. 

Tricks like saving your trump card for last.

Jaune always kept something hidden in his arsenal. It was for fights like this. Most of the time he got by on pure skill but when he needed something extra? He always had something to fall back on to bridge the gap. That’s why the two assassins never saw it coming as the pink flail sped towards his head. 

Jaune had figured out most of the principles behind how it worked. She could absorb and divert the energy to her weapon, adding to it. The woman could keep adding to it, and though he wasn’t sure there was a limit or not he wasn’t keen to find out. The important part was that the flail only had the added energy of her swing and the impact from earlier. This meant Jaune could overpower it with a stronger force.

So he pressed an unused button on the inside of his shield, the symbol on it flashed purple before exploding outwards in a burst of force. The woman was blown away with a surprised cry, she wasn’t completely out of the fight but it was enough to just remove her temporarily. Jaune spun around in a slash at the other assassin whose eyes were just widening and she took the unexpected attack across her chest, aura flaring again. 

He had disrupted their rhythm and in so doing had gained a tremendous advantage. The blonde knight needed to press it as hard as he could. The spinning slash was followed by smashing his shield into her face by the rim before drawing it back and bashing her arms aside before she could get her guard up. The rim drove into her stomach for more damage and there he pressed the last button on his shield and blue light, hardlight in fact, spilled out of the edges to extend the shield but also act as another blade. This cut into her aura and he could see it flicker and then shatter. 

By this time she recovered and swung her bladed ring at him, right at his neck. Jaune ducked while spinning, Crocea Mors coming into a reverse grip as he stabbed backwards, right underneath his armpit, and felt the blade bite home and sink into the assassin. Standing quickly he spun back around and beheaded her before facing his other opponent who was rushing him once more, having recovered from being sent flying. 

Jaune winced internally at what he was about to do. It was his final trump card but not one he relished using in this way. In the decades since becoming a huntsman he had learned a lot about his semblance and different ways to apply it. It could transfer aura from him to another and also enhance their semblances. Most would think that would be useless to him by itself but that was not the case. The idea had come from Ren, a master in aura manipulation, and involved using his own aura to strengthen itself. Or a more appropriate term could be called hardening. By flooding his aura in one place and activating his semblance he could mitigate the damage and force of an attack. 

So of course it came as a surprise to his attacker when his shield contracted into it’s sheath form attached to his gauntlet. It was far too late for her to check her attack. It was possible with a sword or some other solid weapon but her weapon of choice was a flail. Once swung she could not divert it much and he could see the beginning of panic in her eyes when his hand glowed a brilliant white and he  _ caught _ the head of the flail. When pink and white collided there was a tremendous flash of light and Jaune felt pain as the force, even mitigated as it was, forced his feet further into the dirt as his entire body took the impact. 

Jaune could even feel his aura dip dangerously low.

Crocea Mors’ blade fell to the ground as he brought his arm up inside her guard, hand clamping around her shielded wrist. Now he had control over her weapon and her choice was to either maintain hold of her weapon or drop it in order to attack him unarmed. She didn’t disappoint him, instantly letting go of the flail and rocketing a punch straight into his cheek. Using the trick again his semblance shielded his cheek and rebounded the strike. He didn’t do it senselessly. There was another flash as her fist sparked off of his aura and he could even see the telltale sign of her aura flaring to protect her knuckles. 

Dropping the flail in the moment of blindness Jaune’s free hand snaked out to catch her other wrist. 

The fear in her eyes was vindicating but he pressed on, smashing his forehead into her nose, disorienting her enough for his heel to come around and hook her knee. Center of gravity ruined, she was born to the ground with him on top. 

There were many ways to kill someone who still had aura and in his thirty years of experience who knew most of them. One was depriving them of oxygen and it was this method he employed. She kicked and fought for her life, knee driving up and into his back forcefully as she struggled to avoid him getting behind her.

In the end he was successful and she had one arm drawn across her chest as the crook of his elbow was pressed against her neck. Her arms were secured and unable to effectively attack him as he strangled the life out of her. 

Weaker and weaker she finally went still after several minutes. 

Vermilion had long since joined the others’ fight. Three on one, or four if you counted Noel’s Duet, wasn’t good odds for the assassin and he seemed to know it.

His aura flickered and failed as finally broke from a particularly impressive feint from Noel. The followthrough by Will finished him off, her glaive piercing his stomach from behind. Falling to his knees the man clutched at his stomach for a moment before reaching behind him.

Jaune’s eyes went wide as a device was produced.

“GET BACK!” He bellowed but it was too late.

A large fireball engulfed the three team members. 


End file.
